Liberty Belle
by Elphaba818
Summary: All twelve year-old Jamie Harper wanted when her brother went off to war was to find a way to help him, to join him overseas. She never would have guessed, however, that she would be selected as the first child to be subjected to a medical experiment in order to grow up as the perfect soldier. Now, alongside Captain America, Liberty Belle must fight against Hydra, and save America.
1. A Sister's Devotion

**I know I ought to be working more on my Lucy Potter FanFic, but recently I've become obsessed with Captain America, and this idea just popped in my head. I've always wanted to create a superhero of my own, and I've finally come up with a great one. I do hope you all like it!  
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**Disclaimer: Captain America is not mine. All I own is the idea of Jamie and this FanFic.  
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**Please, read and review!**

* * *

**Chapter One:****A Sister's Devotion**

"_Please, Trent, don't go!"_

"_Jamie, my ship is gonna leave any minute. I need to get going."_

"_But, you could die out there! If you die, I won't have anyone! Please, there are already enough people going to fight this war! You don't have to go!"_

_Twelve year-old Jamie Harper clung onto her older, nineteen year-old brother Trenton Harper's Sergeants uniform upon the busy docks of New York City. Today was the day her brother would be shipped off to fight in the 107__th__ division of the war in Europe, against the Nazi army. To Jamie, this was something she could not let happen. Even if it meant reminding him of the awful fact that she was going to put in the orphanage now that he was going off to war, she'd have to play that card. She wouldn't lose her brother, not when they'd already lost their father to this horrible war, and the mother she'd never known, having died when she was born._

_All around the dock, other families were saying their own heartfelt goodbyes to their loved ones. This would be the last time any of them would see them alive, most likely. Like her, many young children were clinging to the clothes of their loving fathers or older brothers, and like her, they didn't want them to go. Every child on this dock knew there was very good chance they'd never see them again._

_Slowly, Trent got down on his knees to her level, and patted her head._

"_It won't be forever. You'll be there temporarily," he assured her. "I promise you I'll come back, and I've already made arrangements with the owner, Mr. Harkins, for his assurance that unless something happens to me, you'll only be staying there as a guest, not as an orphan."_

"_I don't want to stay with that man, Trent!" Jamie protested, burying her face into the shoulder of his uniform as she hugged him tightly. "Please, don't go!"_

"_Jamie," said Trent, pulling her away slightly so he could look her in the eye. "This isn't what I want to do, but it's what I need to do. Take a look around," he paused, gesturing to all the men that were boarding the large ship. "Every man here is doing what they need to do so we can end this war, and that includes me. You, however, need to stay here, safe, but doing your part to end this war as well."_

"_My part?" said Jamie, her teary eyes gazing at him questioningly. "What's my part?"_

"_Supporting me," said Trent gently, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "You need to let me go so I can serve our great nation, and be waiting for me here, on this dock, ready to tackle me with a great big hug for when I return. Can you do that for me?"_

_Reluctantly, Jamie nodded._

"_That's the sister I know," said Trent, as the ship gave a blasting honk, signaling that it would be leaving in five minutes. "Alright, I must go now. There's no need to cry," he added when Jamie started to cry once again. "I'll be back before you know it."_

"_You promise?" Jamie whimpered._

"_I cross my heart," Trent said, making the motion against his chest, "and until I come back, I promise to write to you every day."_

"_You will? Really?"_

"_Of course, and you better believe I'll be wanting letters from you, too. Think you can send me letters back?"_

_Jamie earnestly nodded._

"_Send me your address, and I'll write to you, too! Every day!"_

"_I'll be looking forward to them."_

_Again, Jamie whimpered, and then flung herself into Trent's embrace one last time. Trent didn't protest. He, too, wrapped his arms around his baby sister, and hugged her tightly._

"_Be safe, Trentie," Jamie cried._

"_I will, James, I promise."_

_Kissing her cheek, Trent got to his feet, collected his duffel bag, and made toward the gangway doors of the ship. As he was about to board, he turned, and waved to Jamie one last time before vanishing inside the ship._

_As Jamie stood on the dock, waving with the rest of the crowd as the ship sailed off, she nodded to herself._

"_Okay, Trent," she said out loud to herself. "If you can serve this country, so can I! I'm gonna join the army, just like you!"_

* * *

"Rogers, Steven," called the voice of the doctor.

Steve Rogers set down the newspaper he'd been reading and got to his feet. It was finally his moment. He filed into the line of the anxious men waiting to receive the news if whether they'd be enlisted into the army, or told to stay here in America.

For Steve Rogers, he was the only man in the room that actually wanted to be sent to war. He'd been rejected from other recruitment offices four times already, each time being told the same thing: you're not cut out for war.

But not this time. This time, he'd _make_ the doctors see that he needed to go. Even if it meant lying once again of where he was born on his recruitment form, he had to go.

Eventually, it was his turn, and he stood at attention to the doctor standing before him holding his medical records.

"Rogers…" the doctor said, flipping through his paperwork. "What'd your father die of?"

"Mustard gas," Steve replied at once. "He was in the 107th infantry, I was hoping I could be assigned–"

"Your mother?" the doctor interrupted, not interested in the details.

"She was a nurse," said Steve, "but she got hit, couldn't shake it."

The doctor nodded as he skimmed through Steve's medical files. The kid had more problems listed than any of the other men he'd seen already put together: Asthma, Scarlet Fever, Rheumatic Fever, Simusitus, Frequent Colds, High Blood Pressure, Easily Fatigued, Heart Trouble…. the list went on and on.

When the doctor finally looked back up at Steve, he shook his head.

"Sorry, son."

"Look, just give me–"

"What do you mean I can't enlist?! You need all the help you can get, right?!"

Steve cut himself off as he, and every other head in the room whipped around. Near the main entrance, a little girl of perhaps ten was standing in front of the main desk, her hands on her hips as she glared furiously at the receptionist. The receptionist gulped, unsure what to do, and when she finally spoke, her voice failed to have any sort of authority or anger present.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we can only accept people over the age of eighteen and you're–"

"Rubbish!" the little girl snapped, her short, mousy brown hair flailing about wildly as she spoke. "It's because I'm girl, isn't it? Well, that's not a problem!" She turned and yelled into the waiting room. "Somebody bring me some scissors! I can look and act like a boy!"

"Little girl, I'm sorry," said the woman, "but I can't allow some your age to take the exam."

"You better allow it!" the little girl snapped. "Because I'm not leaving until a doctor says I'm deemed fit to go overseas!"

The woman gulped. This little girl wasn't going to take no for an answer. She had to try another approach.

"I'm sure you must think it's wonderful, going and fighting for your country," she said, managing the best smile she could. "But it's truly dangerous work. If you really want to help the war effort, you should go and help your friends collect scrap metal, or help your mother volunteer at the Red Cross–"

"I don't have a mother," the little girl retorted. "And I'm certainly not going to wheel around a red wagon collecting metal when my brother's in Europe laying down his life!"

"Well, I'm sure your brother wouldn't want–"

"This isn't about what my brother wants!" the girl said, now starting to shout. "This is about me wanting to help him! Now, let me see a doctor!"

Again, the woman gulped, and turned to a doctor standing nearby. The doctor understood her silent plea, and he approached the little girl and took her arm.

"Look, why don't you go and play soldier somewhere else, hm?" said the doctor.

"I don't want to _play_ soldier!" the little girl screamed as he escorted her out of the recruitment building. "I need to _be_ a soldier and help my brother!"

There was a long silence as everyone in the building processed what had just happened. They were accustomed to hearing kids on the street say they were going to recruit for the army, but they had never seen one be so adamant about joining that they'd marched into the recruitment building and demand to be enlisted.

Slowly, Steve turned back to the doctor before.

"Wow…" Steve said.

"It's not really so much as a 'wow' anymore to the rest of us here," said the doctor.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"That girl's been going to every recruitment building in the city for about a month now, demanding to be seen by a doctor so she can go and fight."

"You mean she's done this before?" said Steve, surprised.

"Here? A few times. Now, back to you… I'm sorry, but you're ineligible on your asthma alone."

"Is there anything you can do?" Steve asked pleadingly.

"I'm doing it," said the doctor picking up the rejection stamp. "I'm saving your life."

And without another word, he stamped 4F into the little square box on the lower right-hand corner of Steve's recruitment form.

Sadly, Steve nodded, and stepped out of line.

* * *

"Stupid rules! Stupid lady! Stupid doctors!" yelled Jamie as she stomped flatfooted down the street away from the recruitment building. "Stupid war!"

It had been a little over a month since Trent had gone off to war, and ever since he'd left, she'd spent her every waking moment trying to find a way to cross the ocean to join him. Originally, she'd been very polite whenever she'd go into one of the recruiting offices, but as time wore on and every place she'd gone to hadn't even let her see a doctor, her patience began to wear thin.

"They're idiots! Each and every one of them!" She shouted, scaring some nearby pedestrians strolling along, and they stepped out of her way as she stomped past, not even noticing them. "They need all the help they can get! They can even assign me as a volunteer nurse! I don't care! I just need to be recruited!"

"You're still on about that?" came an all-to-familiar voice nearby. Jamie paused, knowing exactly who it was, and turned around. Right behind was the biggest, meanest bullies at the orphanage she was currently staying at: Nick Conners.

"Be quiet, Nick!" said Jamie, not in the mood for his usual teasing. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you!"

"No, I don't think I will!" said Nick, and before Jamie could protest, he dragged her into the shadows of a nearby alleyway, and shoved her up against a brick wall.

"You _really _want to go and fight, Harper?" Nick said mockingly. "You'll never get to go, because you can't even fight me!"

* * *

Steve left the recruitment office with a heavy heart. He knew he shouldn't be surprised by the results. This was his fifth attempt, after all. His stupid health problems were what was holding him back. Still, he couldn't let his health keep him from going to fight. Not when there were men laying down their lives to fight for this country. He wouldn't strive to do any less than them.

As he walked down the street, he suddenly heard a noise from a back alley. It sounded almost like a cry for help. The thought of someone being beaten filled his head, and he changed his course of direction at once.

He headed down the alley way slowly and cautiously. For one thing, he didn't know what was going on, and for another, if it turned out that whoever was behind this was a rather large fellow, he'd prefer to have the jump on him.

As he approached the cries, he finally caught a glimpse of what was happening. The little girl who he had seen in the recruitment building was there, being punched and kicked around by a boy who seemed to be a few years older than her.

Rage overtook Steve. He had never liked bullies, and he knew exactly what it was like to be in that little girl's position. He himself got beat up at least three times a week, and now that he was in a position where he could help someone like him, he didn't hesitate.

"Hey, you!" he shouted, stepping out from the shadows. Abruptly, the boy stopped pounding on the girl, and turned to see who had spoken. "Leave her alone!"

The boy jumped, clearly not wanting to be sent to the police, and then he ran, before Steve could say anything else.

Steve let him go. His main priority was the little girl. She was backed up against the corner, and was staring at him with big, brown eyes filled with fear. Had he not himself been in the recruitment building, he'd never believe even for a second that this was the same girl. He smiled, and then walked up to her.

"Are you all right?" he asked. The girl hesitantly nodded.

"Y-yes, thank you," she said, pushing away from the wall and standing up straight. As she did, she suddenly winced, and put pressure on her side.

"You hurt?" said Steve worriedly. The girl shook her head.

"No, just sore. I'll have a nasty bruise there tomorrow, though."

She rubbed her side tenderly, and then looked back up at him.

"I remember you," she said at once. "You were in the recruitment building, weren't you?" Steve nodded, surprised that she remembered him after not only her angry tirade, but out of all the men that had been waiting there.

"Yes, I was, but how do you remember that?" he asked curiously.

"I remember everything," she said, now dusting her clothes off. "Everything I've ever read or seen I remember. I think it's called… pho… photograms…?"

"Photographic memory?" Steve guessed. The girl earnestly nodded.

"Yes! That's it! Photographic memory!" she smiled broadly to him, and then stretched out her hand. "My name is Jamie, by the way. Jamie Harper."

"Steve," Steve replied, shaking her hand. "Steve Rogers."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Rogers," said Jamie brightly.

"Just Steve will do," Steve told her, he himself starting to smile at her innocent nature.

"Okay then, Steve," said Jamie. She suddenly froze, and glanced down at her wrist, where Steve saw she was wearing a wristwatch. She gasped, and looked up at him nervously.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rog–Steve," she said quickly. "But I need to go! Thank you again for rescuing me!"

"Wait!" Said Steve as she made her way toward the entrance to the alley. "I can at least walk you to wherever it is you need to go! It's not safe for someone your age to be walking the streets of New York by yourself."

Immediately, Jamie's cheerful, innocent nature vanished, and in its place was the personality of the girl he'd seen in the recruitment building.

"Age…" she muttered to herself angrily. "Everything's about age in this country…!" she was quiet for a moment, thinking his proposition over, and then finally shrugged. "Fine, come if you want!"

And then she stomped flatfooted down the alleyway, and into the street. Steve rushed after her.

"So, I take it you wish you were older?" said Steve hesitantly as Jamie marched beside him.

"It's not that," she said. "But you saw how those stuffy people at the recruitment office were! They said I can't do anything for the army unless I'm at least eighteen! It's ridiculous! I'm only six years younger than the required age!"

"You're twelve?" said Steve, surprised. He'd assumed she was younger. The girl nodded angrily.

"Yes, and it's stupid! They don't need to put me on the front lines of the battlefield! I'd settle for just being a helper around one of the army camps! And instead, they tell me to go and collect scrap metal in my wagon! I want to do more than that!"

"Well, no offense, but war is very dangerous… it's not something a girl like you should get involved in…"

Jamie stopped walking at once, and fixed him with an angry glare.

"Is being a girl what's holding me back?" she demanded. "Is that why they won't let me fight?"

"Er–well I suppose it's part of it," said Steve hesitantly, not sure what else to say. "But really, no one wants to see a little girl like you die. You still have a whole life ahead of you."

Jamie huffed, and kept marching down the street.

"You're just like them!" she snipped. "My age! My age! Even if I was thirty you'd still think of something about my age to criticize, wouldn't you? It's my own choice whether or not I choose to enlist, but I guess someone like you, a guy who's going to be going to Europe in a few days, can't understand that, because by law you have to enlist!"

"I'm not going to Europe," said Steve sadly. "I'm not going to war."

At this, Jamie stopped her angry ranting, and stared up at him curiously.

"What? But, you were in line like everyone else… I thought…"

"I didn't make the cut," he said, taking his recruitment form out of his pocket to show her. "I've got too many health issues."

She took the slip of paper, and examined the 4F in the lower corner. When she gave it back to him, he couldn't help but notice her eyes roll.

"You must be happy," she murmured as they turned a corner. To her surprise, Steve shook his head.

"On the contrary, I couldn't be more disappointed…"

"You actually want to go to war?" said Jamie. Steve nodded.

"It doesn't seem right to me, staying here, safe, when there are men laying down their lives across the ocean…"

"Well, you're quite a hypocrite then!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Beg your pardon?" said Steve.

"You have absolutely no right to tell me that I shouldn't enlist when people tell you the same thing!" she explained. Steve opened his mouth to deny that he was doing any such thing, but then closed it, realizing she was right.

"I suppose you're right," Steve said hesitantly. "For a twelve year-old, you're very smart."

"That's what my brother always tells me," said Jamie, suddenly looking sad.

"Something wrong?" said Steve.

"No, I just wish my brother was here. He's actually fighting in the war as we speak. That's why I want to join the army. I want to help him… Oh, here we are!"

They came to a stop in front of a large, gray building. As Jamie pushed open the gate to go in, Steve read the sign above it: _New York City Orphanage._

"You're an orphan?" said Steve, shocked. Jamie shook her head, paused, and then shrugged.

"Yes and no," she said sheepishly. "I don't have any parents, but since my brother is over eighteen, we didn't have to live here. However, since he's overseas, the law dictates that I have to come here. I'm not up for adoption like the other kids here, I'm more of an extended guest boarding here until Trent–that's my brother's name–comes back. Of course, if he dies, that'll mean I really will be an orphan. Anyway, thank you for walking me back, Steve. It was really nice to meet you!"

"Yes," said Steve with a smile. "It was nice to meet you, too."

"Maybe I'll see you around some time! Goodbye!"

And with that, she turned around, and hurried inside.

Steve paused, and then turned around, and headed back down the street.

* * *

"I'm back!" Jamie called, shutting the door behind her.

"Ah, Jamie!" said the manager of the orphanage, William Harkins. "Welcome back!"

Mr. Harkins was nothing like Jamie had expected him to be when they'd first met over a month ago. Instead of the old, balding man with a bad temper she'd imagined, he was quite young, only in his mid-to-late thirties, and was quite a jolly fellow. He and his wife, Julia Harkins, had welcomed her into their care with welcome arms, and made sure she was quite happy.

"Thank you, Mr. Harkins," she replied earnestly. "Sorry I'm late, by the way…"

"It's no trouble, but try not to let it happen again. Julia was getting about ready to call the police so they could go looking for you."

"Sorry, sir," said Jamie, following him down the hallway. "I didn't miss dinner, though, right?"

"No, there still some left. Better hurry, though. Everyone is supposed to gather here at the door in an hour so we can go to the World Exposition of Tomorrow."

"Yes sir, I'll be quick!"

And with that, Jamie hurried down the hall, determined to eat fast so she could join the others in the field trip.

The cafeteria was the largest room in the building. It needed to be large in order to fit all the thirty kids together during meals. It was also very bland. Whitewashed walls and beige tiling accompanied the wooden tables spread throughout the room where the children could sit and eat. And up against the back wall was the table where the food was served, right beside the door that lead back to the kitchens.

Most of the children in the orphanage had eaten already, so the room was mostly empty, but there were some like her who were having a late dinner. She made her way past them so she could go get her food. As she passed one particular table, someone yelled out, "Hey, War Girl!", and before she realized what had happened, she tripped over someone's foot being stuck out, and fell face first on the hard tiled floor.

"Ow!" she said, rubbing her side where Nick had punched her earlier as she got to her feet, ignoring the gales of laughter erupting around her.

"Back from the recruitment office, I see!" came the voice of another bully of hers here at the orphanage, Becky Sanders. Jamie threw her a dirty look.

"How do you even know I was at the recruitment office?" she said. "I could have just gone out to mail a letter to my brother!"

"Don't lie Harper!" came Nick's voice from across the table. "I beat you up right after you left the building!"

Laughter filled the cafeteria again, but Jamie simply glared furiously at the two of them.

"At least I want to do something to help our country!" she retorted. "All any of you do is play games while the men overseas risk their lives for all of us!"

"Yeah, well, go pick up scrap metal then!" Becky said, grinning at her cheekily. "It's more suited for someone who can't even catch someone while playing tag!"

Jamie huffed just as her only friend in the orphanage, Maggie Anderson, got up and tugged on her hand.

"Come on," she told her quietly. "Let's go."

Jamie nodded, and the two marched away from the laughter that Nick and Becky were insinuating.

"Send us a postcard when you finally make it Germany!" Becky shouted out after her.

"Really, Jamie, you should learn to just ignore them," Maggie said, following Jamie up toward the food table. "You just play right into their hands whenever you take their bait."

"I try, Maggie, I really do," Jamie replied, helping herself to some chicken soup and a glass of milk. "But I can't just sit there and listen to them mock not just me, but the war itself! The war my brother is fighting in!"

"Speaking of your brother, you got another letter from him today," said Maggie, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a white envelope. "Mrs. Harkins gave it to me to give to you since you were out when the mailman came."

Jamie gasped, and rushed with her plate to the nearest empty table before sitting down, and reading the letter.

_Dear Jamie,_

_I can't begin to tell you how strange it is out here in Italy. My division has been stationed beside a little village near the border of Austria, and although we haven't seen too much battle yet, it's only a matter of time. The Colonel says we'll being joining a raid for a Hydra division factory any day now._

_Oh, you don't know about Hydra yet, do you? Hydra is the Nazi's deep science division. They develop the weapons that the Nazi's use against us Americans on the battlefield. In order for us to end this war, we'll need to infiltrate and shut down each of the Hydra factories sanctioned throughout Europe. Aside from that, I don't know too much about it. Everything about Hydra is really hush-hush around camp, and only the commanding officers know the details. It's so top secret, I'm not even really supposed to be telling you about Hydra at all, so be sure not to tell anyone about it back home, okay?_

_But enough about me, I'm really writing this because I wanted to know what's going on with you back at home. Are the Harkin's treating you well? Have you made any friends? How have you been spending your time? I hope you're not still trying to enlist in the army like you said in your last letter. I may have not have seen the battlefield yet, but I can promise you you'd never wish you'd joined if you saw the people who come back from battles every day here._

_I miss you every day, sis, and I hope I can come home and see you soon._

_Your Big Brother,_

_Trent_

"What does it say?" Maggie asked as Jamie set the letter and began to draw up some of her soup.

"Oh, just the usual," Jamie nonchalantly replied, knowing she couldn't tell her friend about what her brother had wrote about Hydra. "He's misses me… wishes he could come home… etcetera etcetera…"

"He's not hurt is he?"

"No, he claims he hasn't even seen the battlefield yet."

"So he's doing well over there?"

"Apparently. I'll have to remember to write him another letter before we leave so I can drop it off in a postbox."

"Well, it seems like you won't need to keep trying to enlist then," said Maggie cheerfully. "Now that you know he's doing okay, after all…"

Immediately, Jamie set down her spoon, and fixed her friend with an annoyed look.

"Actually, it does mean I have to keep trying," she said. "If he's doing well, that means there won't be any danger for me."

"Jamie, why do you keep trying to enlist?" Maggie asked exasperatedly. "You're only a kid! How do you think you'd be any help?"

"I don't know," said Jamie irritably. "I could do the menial jobs perhaps. Doing the laundry… cooking dinner… being the messenger girl… there's more to war than just fighting on the front lines, Maggie."

"But still, you know no recruitment office will even take the time to even give you a physical," Maggie pointed out. "They're just going to keep turning you away at the door."

"I can't give up, Maggie!" Jamie proclaimed, getting to her feet, and walking over to the trash bin to throw out her finished soup. "I need to keep trying! I know you can't understand… you never knew your family… but now that I don't have parents, Trent is all I have left! I can't stand being here and not being able to help him! If he's in danger, I have to be in danger too! I won't sit here and wait to receive a letter telling me he was killed in action the same day I was playing hopscotch with you outside."

Maggie was silent for several moments, processing what Jamie had told her.

"When you put it that way, I suppose you're right," she finally said as they left the cafeteria. "I guess I'd feel the same way…"

"I'm glad you finally understand," Jamie told her. "Anyway, we still have some time before we have to get ready to leave for the Expo. I'm going to go write a letter back to Trent."

"Alright, I'll meet you by the main entrance when it's time to go."

Jamie nodded, and went up the stairs to the bedrooms.

As she entered her room, she kicked off her shoes, and settled into her desk chair. She took a blank piece of stationary off of the pile in the corner of her desk, took a black pen out from the inner drawer, and began to write.

_Dear Trent,_

_I'm glad to hear you haven't been in any battles recently. I've been worrying about you dying out there everyday!_

_It's been pretty boring here. The Harkin's are nice enough, but they can't replace real parents. Aside from that, I've only made one friend here at the orphanage. Her name is Maggie Anderson, and she's really nice. I wish I could introduce you to her, Trent. I think you'd like her._

_As for occupying my free time, I think you already know the answer to that, even if you don't like it. Like I stated in my last letter, I'm still trying to enlist in the army so I can join you across the ocean. I know that's the last thing you want me to do, join the army, but it's what I want. I want to help you more than just collecting scrap metal in a wagon. However, America won't let me. No recruiting office I've been to yet will let me so much as be examined by a doctor, much to your relief. But don't think it's over, Trent! I'm going to be joining you in Italy soon, just wait and see!_

_Anyway, I need to stop writing now. Mr. and Mrs. Harkins are taking all of us kids to the World Exposition of Tomorrow tonight, and we're going to be leaving it a little while. It's going to be so cool! I heard that Howard Stark is going to be there to show a demonstration of some futuristic gadget. Wouldn't it be amazing to get his autograph? I'll try to get it and send it to you in my next letter!_

_I'll write again soon! And I miss you more, Trentie!_

_Love,_

_Jamie_

With a nod, Jamie folded up the letter, took an envelope out from the drawer of her desk, and sealed the letter inside it. She took her pen again, and scribbled the address of her brother's military encampment on the envelope. She checked her watch. She had finished in the nick of time. Everyone would be leaving in a few minutes. She slipped the envelope into her pocket, and hurried out the door, and back downstairs.

* * *

"Where should we go first? Do you want to go on the Ferris Wheel?"

"No, let's go see the gadget Howard Stark's presenting!"

"Okay, but only after we get some cotton candy."

Jamie and Maggie walked through the crowds at the Expo. It was twilight, and the sky was lit up with fireworks. The entire city had come to see the wonders the Expo promised the world would come true one day. Wonders such as trains that traveled through the air, ships that would travel to the moon, suits that could make people fly… Such things were unimaginable to the people of the nineteen forties, and they had come to be amazed.

"What is it that Mr. Stark is supposed to be presenting again?" Maggie asked as she and Jamie got in line at a street vendor to get their cotton candy. "Something with a those weapons he makes for the army?"

"No, I don't think so," Jamie said. "I think it's supposed to do with flying…"

They paid the vendor and headed off in the direction of the presentation.

"Do you think if we sneak backstage after the demo is done we can get his autograph?" Jamie asked as they pushed through the crowd so they could get a clear view of the stage.

"Of course not," Maggie said, waving her hand. "He's supposed to be a billionaire, right? There's bound to security, and if we get caught, imagine what would happen?"

"I guess you're right," Jamie agreed.

Before they could say anything else, the lights on the stage turned on, and they quieted down so they could watch.

On stage was a bright red, shiny car, and five young women, all whom appeared to be in their early twenties. One took a microphone, and began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!"

Jamie and Maggie joined the crowd in the welcoming applause as Mr. Stark walked on stage. Like the girls, he was dressed up in a tuxedo, and had a black top hat perched on his head. He smiled coyly to the women, and they swooned as the one holding the microphone walked up to him, and planted her lips on his before offering him the mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Stark began. "What if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?"

Jamie and Maggie joined in the crowd's shocked gasp as two of the girls approached the tires on the car, and pulled them away to reveal two metal electronics in their place.

"Yes," Mr. Stark went on, "with Stark Gravitic reversion technology, you'll be able to do just that."

He then pressed a few buttons on a panel he was standing beside on stage, and then, incredibly, the car rose and hovered a few feet in the air.

"Oh my God!" Maggie exclaimed excitedly.

Jamie was about to nod and agree with her, but then, as quickly as the car had rose, it fell back to earth, showering the audience with crackling sparks.

"Well, I did say few years, didn't I?" Stark went on, making the audience laugh.

"So, what now?" Maggie asked as they walked away from the failed demonstration, munching on their cotton candy. "Do you want to go to another exhibit?"

Jamie shrugged, not really sure where to go, but then, she spied the building. The small, beige building in the exact center of the hustle and bustle of the fair. The Army Recruiting Office.

"You go on ahead, I'll meet up with you later."

She headed off in the direction of the recruiting office, Maggie hot on her heels.

"Not tonight, Jamie, please!" she begged as Jamie entered the building.

"It'll only be a few minutes, Maggie," Jamie insisted.

"No, you're going to make another scene like you do at every recruiting office, and get us both not only thrown out of the building, but out of the fair, too!"

"I promise I'll hold my tongue this time," Jamie told her, and before Maggie could say anything else, Jamie approached the receptionist at the front desk. "Um, excuse me?"

The receptionist put down the newspaper she was reading, and glanced down at Jamie.

"Oh, can I help you?" the woman asked. Jamie nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. I'd like to enlist in the army, please."

The woman stared, and then laughed.

"That's quite funny, kid, but only adults are allowed to fight in the war."

"Ma'am, I'm not joking," Jamie said earnestly. "I want to enlist. Can you give me the paperwork so that I may see a doctor?"

"Of course not," said the woman. "I'd lose my job if I were to let a little girl like you try to enlist for the army."

"Ma'am, please," Jamie begged. "Isn't there something you can do? I don't have to fight! I'd settle for simply doing laundry at one of the army camps!"

"I'm afraid not," said the woman, now losing her patience. "Now, why don't you leave before I have you thrown out?"

"Ma'am, all I want is a chance!" Jamie exclaimed. "Can't you please–?"

"It's all right, Marian," came a rough, accented voice from somewhere behind Jamie. "I'll take care of this child."

Jamie and Maggie both turned around. Behind them both stood a rather old man. His white hair was balding, and he had on a thin pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was wearing a smart brown suit, and was apparently very important, because the woman immediately brightened up.

"Oh, thank you, Doctor Erskine."

The receptionist threw Jamie a dirty look, and then collected some papers on her desk and marched away.

Jamie stared down at her feet sadly. This man was about to tell her to leave now or else he'd call the police, just like every person at every other recruiting office had done before. Once again, she would never get her chance to go overseas. She was about to leave before he could force her out, but to her surprise, he said, "Follow me, please."

He set off down the hallway, and Jamie and Maggie, exchanging surprised glances, took off after him.

He led them down several corridors, past several rooms full of doctors conducting exams on young men who were enlisting. He finally came to a halt before an empty examination room, and pulled back the curtain hiding the interior.

"In here, please, if you both will."

Again, Jamie and Maggie exchanged curious looks, but did as they were told, and entered the room. The doctor followed. He shut the curtain behind them, and then looked directly at Jamie.

"So," he said. "You want to go overseas? Kill some Nazi's?"

"I'm sorry?" said Jamie, surprised by the abrupt question.

"Doctor Abraham Erskine," said the man, holding out his hand. "I represent a strategic scientific research."

"I'm Jamie," said Jamie, shaking his hand. "Jamie Harper, and this is my friend Maggie."

"Good to meet you, sir," said Maggie politely.

"You don't sound American," said Jamie.

"I'm German," said Doctor Erskine. "This troubles you?"

"No, sir," said Jamie, afraid she'd offended him. "I was simply curious."

"I've heard of you, Miss Harper," said Doctor Erskine. "You're the little girl who's been going to the recruitment offices all over the city, trying to get enlisted."

"I'm not going to be arrested, am I?" Jamie asked, now getting scared. "I didn't think I'd broken some sort of law, I just thought–"

"No, it's not the fact that you broke a law I brought you here," Doctor Erskine interjected. "It's the fact that you keep trying to enlist. But, you didn't answer my question. Do you want to kill Nazi's?"

Jamie blinked, not sure what to say. Trying to stall for time, she thought up her own question.

"Does the answer matter?" she asked.

"Yes."

Jamie bit her lip, and answered honestly as she could.

"No, sir," she said. "I don't want to kill anyone. I just… I just want to help my older brother. He's already overseas. I want to help him more than just collecting scrap metal in a wagon."

The Doctor thought her answer over for a moment, and then replied, "Well, there are already so many adults fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is a child…"

"Sir?" said Jamie, not understanding where he was going with this.

"I can offer you a chance," said Doctor Erskine, pulling aside the curtain and walking out, both Jamie and Maggie following him. _"Only_ a chance…"

"I'll take it!" said Jamie at once. "I'll take anything!"

"Good," said Doctor Erskine, taking a registration form off from a desk and a pen before turning back to her. "So, where are you from?"

"Right here in Manhattan, sir," Jamie replied.

"And how old are you?"

"Twelve, sir."

Doctor filled in the information on the form, and then took a large stamp, and stamped something in the lower right-hand corner.

"Congratulations, soldier," he said, giving her the form, and walking away.

Jamie and Maggie stared after him for a moment, and then glanced down at the form. In the lower corner was the letter and number 1A.

"I'm getting a chance…" Jamie whispered, unable to believe her luck. "Maggie, I'm going to get a chance!"


	2. Being Selected

**Wow... I can't believed how fast I finished this! I guess it was because of the great two reviews I recieved from xxxMadameMysteryxxx and kitcool. Thank you both so much for your kind words!  
**

**I'm quite proud of this chapter. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to write the scene with Steve receiving the serum injections well, but I think I did the scene justice.**

**Please, read and review!**

* * *

**Chapter Two:****Being Selected**

Jamie stood at attention in the line of nine other children, all of them about her age. She paid them no mind. She couldn't believe she was actually here, at an army boot camp, waiting to be told how to train. A week ago, she'd only dreamed of being here, and yet here she was, ready to begin her training as a soldier.

The past week had been quite amazing. For starters, she had packed a bag, not that she had much to pack, just two other outfits, a set of pajamas, a toothbrush, her stuffed panda, her stationary, and the only photograph she had of Trent along with his letters, and had left the orphanage, much to the dismay of the Harkin's and Maggie, but the delight of the other children, particularly Nick and Becky. She'd been sad to leave the Harkin's and Maggie, they'd been the only people who'd made her stay there bearable, but she wasn't going to change her mind. She finally had her chance to help her brother, and she was going to let that chance go to waste. With the promise that she'd write to them and that they'd write back and send Trent's letters to the boot camp she'd be staying at, two soldiers had escorted her into a car that brought her to the boot camp.

She was initially scared of the camp when she first arrived. So many adults yelling at each other as guns went off, but as she spent the next few days growing accustomed to the place, her earlier fears faded away. The yelling was only to get trainees attention, and the gunfire was never aimed directly at other people. It was for practice for when they were at war. Jamie slowly grew to relax at the place, and do the jobs she was assigned. The past few days she'd mainly spent doing menial chores around the camp, waiting for other children like her to arrive.

She'd been told upon arrival that she wasn't the only child to be coming to this camp. She was only one out of ten that had been selected. She hadn't been told the reason, only that it would be revealed during the first day of training. Jamie, knowing from the footage she'd seen on the news roll at the movies that trouble only came from questioning anything in the military, just accepted this explanation quietly, wondering every day what was the reasoning that she was chosen to come join the army.

And it was finally that day. She was in line with four other girls like her, and five other boys, each wearing light brown military suits, and military hard hats. Out of all of them, she was the tiniest. All of them were between the ages of twelve to fifteen, but she was the only one who looked to be ten. This worried Jamie somewhat. Out of all the children, she was most likely going to be sent back home just upon first glance. She still didn't know what this was all about, but there was something Trent had wrote in one of his letters that she couldn't seem to get out of her head now: in war, it's the survival of the fittest, not the kindest.

"Recruits, attention!" called a voice suddenly.

Jamie snapped out of thoughts, and stood up straight like the other children around her. Walking towards them all was a young woman, an officer. She was very young, maybe only in her early twenties, and she wore the standard brown officer jacket, and a long brown skirt. She had big, dark brown eyes, and bouncy, curled dark brown hair. She wore very little make-up, but out of all of it, the most prominent of her make-up had to be her red lipstick. It made her lips look full and pretty, which made no sense at all coming from her. She was truly a beautiful young woman, but as she walked toward them all, Jamie noticed out of the corner of her eye that she had a stern expression. Jamie gulped. She knew at once that this was someone she'd better not get on the wrong side of.

"Children, I'm Agent Carter," she said simply, her voice laced with a trace of a British accent, "I supervise all operations for this division."

"I'm no kid, Queen Victoria," said a rather rugged boy of maybe fourteen. "I'm in the army now. I'm a man!"

"What's your name?" said Agent Carter at once.

"Marcus Reid, your ladyship," said the boy.

"Step forward, Reid," said Agent Carter.

Reid did as he was told, not losing the conceited grin on his face. Jamie fought the urge not to look worried. She may only be twelve, but even she knew that he was about to be taught a lesson because of his cheek.

"Put your right foot forward," Agent Carter ordered.

Again, Reid did as he was told, but this time, his smirk only grew.

"I've always did dig older dames," he said, looking her over from head to toe. "Are you inviting me to wrestle?"

Agent Carter's reply was a swift punch to Reid's face. Reid fell backward on the ground with a loud groan.

"Don't think that just because you're children you'll be treated any differently than the other soldiers on this base," said Agent Carter to all of them as Reid, still on the ground, rubbed his face. "As part of this division, you'll be expected to act, train, and fight just like any other soldier. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," came the collected reply from the other nine kids.

"Agent Carter," came another voice.

Agent Carter turned around. Climbing down from a military jeep was Doctor Erskine, the one who had given Jamie the chance to be here, and another man. Jamie recognized by his uniform that he was of a higher ranking than the woman before her. She stood still and at attention, curious of whom this new person was, but knew better than to open her mouth and ask.

"Colonel Phillips," said Agent Carter, saluting him.

"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates," said the Colonel. "That's good…" The Colonel's eyes fell on Marcus Reid, who was still lying down in the dirt.

"Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention until someone comes and tells you what to do."

Reid quickly got to his feet and stood up at attention as he was told.

"Yes, sir!" he replied.

The Colonel began walking down the line of them, and began to speak.

"General Patton has said, 'Wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by soldiers. We are going to win this war because we have the best… soldiers…"

He trailed off as his eyes fell on Jamie. Jamie fought the urge to tremble under his gaze.

"And because they're going to get better," he went on, continuing his walk down the line. "Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an allied effort," he explained, "made up with the best minds of the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history, but every army starts with one soldier, and to have the best soldier in an army of the future. At the end of this week, we will choose not only one man in the adult division, but also one child out of all of you to be those first soldiers. That adult and child will be the first in a new breed of super soldiers. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell."

Jamie was unable to suppress her gulp this time. This was a bit more than what she'd agreed to, but she held her tongue. There was no way she'd ask to leave and go back to the orphanage, not if this was the only chance she'd ever get at helping Trent fight this war.

She'd do whatever they told her to do. She'd do the very best she could.

* * *

Jamie slouched into the mess hall, her entire body sore and achy. It had been a very long day. Right after the Colonel's long talk they'd been taken to a large rock wall to test their climbing abilities. Since they were all still children, a separate training program had been set up for them all to use instead of the adult one, but it was still extremely difficult.

They all had to climb to the top of the rock climbing wall and ring a bell before climbing back down, and the hardest part of all was doing it as quickly as possible, as the Colonel and Agent Carter would be timing them. As the tiniest, Jamie had struggled initially in trying to climb more than just a foot on the wall, and what made it even harder was that the bigger kids were trying to mess her up, especially Reid. When she finally got the hang on climbing and started to gain altitude, Reid purposefully kicked the hand she was using to reach the next rock with his foot. Losing her balance, Jamie slipped and fell all the way back down on the ground. She proceeded to get back up and climb, trying to ignore the tuts she was receiving from the Colonel, who, out of the corner of her eye she saw scribble something down on her assessment sheet.

They did this three times, but she took the longest to finish. She couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed. She'd wanted to make a good first impression on the Colonel this first day, but all she'd done was make herself look a fool.

Sighing to herself, Jamie filed in line behind the other kids to receive their dinner. As she reached for a clean tray, she suddenly found herself flung backwards by an extremely large, muscled hand.

"Out of the way, shrimp," said Marcus Reid, cutting ahead of her and taking the tray she'd been reaching for.

"You're acting really rude," Jamie muttered quietly. Marcus fixed her with an amused look.

"I'm big, you're little," he said, jabbing a finger to her chest, "that means you are nothing compared to me!"

Jamie held her tongue. She wasn't about to get into a fistfight with a boy six inches taller than her. Not only did she know she'd lose, but this wasn't home where, winner or loser of a fight, you could simply walk away and nothing would happen. This was the army. Fighting here was not tolerated. At all. The worst-case scenario would be as punishment, they'd send her back home. She couldn't risk that. She simply had to deal with Reid the only way she could: staying as far away from him as possible.

When she at last got her soup, she made sure to not sit with the other children that were in her division. With them was Reid. She instead set off towards the tables filled with the adult men. Many of them stared at her as she approached.

"Can I sit here?" she asked politely.

The men stared at her, and then finally started laughing.

"Go back to Mommy, princess!" One shouted.

"This isn't a place for innocent kids like you!" said another.

Jamie huffed.

"A simple 'no,' would have sufficed," she stated before turning around, and marching away.

She pondered for a moment what to do. She couldn't sit with the other kids, and the adults wouldn't let her sit with them. Her eyes scanned the mess hall, searching for an empty table. Then, she spied a table in the back corner, empty except for one man. She set off towards it immediately. Hopefully, he would at the very least not object to her joining him. When she reached his table, she nervously cleared her throat.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

The man looked from his tray and looked at her. Jamie nearly dropped her tray.

"Steve?"

"Jamie?"

The two of them stared at each other, hardly believing they had run into each other in an army boot camp, of all places.

"I don't believe it," said Steve, blinking twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "What're you doing here?"

"I got my wish," Jamie replied, setting her tray down and taking a seat across from him. "I got enlisted by a Doctor Erskine for some sort of top secret research division made up of only kids. What're you doing here? You told me you weren't healthy enough to fight in the war."

"I met Doctor Erskine, too." He told her. "He recruited me for a top secret research division, too."

"Looks like we're both getting our wish, then!" Jamie exclaimed brightly. "We're both getting a chance to fight in this war!"

Steve laughed. "Yeah, looks like we are."

"You don't mind if I eat here with you, do you?" said Jamie, suddenly afraid she might be intruding. "I'm just glad to see a familiar face."

"Of course not," Steve told her. "It's nice to see you, too, but tell me, why aren't you with the other kids?" He pointed at the table where the rest of the kids were eating. "They look like they're having fun."

"They're all bullies," Jamie explained. "I'm the youngest, so therefore I'm the weakest, which means they get to pick on me however they see fit."

"Ah," said Steve. "I've never like bullies myself. I've been beaten up on more than one occasion."

"Really?" said Jamie. "But you rescued me the other day… I can't imagine you being in my position."

"Yeah, well, being small and skinny means you don't really stand much of a chance against guys twice your size."

"I suppose you're right, there," Jamie agreed. "Do you think we'll get another chance to talk while we're here? From what I've been told, they're going to be training my squad from dawn until dusk."

"I expect so," Steve said. "Every gets breaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We'll be able to talk then."

"Alright, I guess we should do the very best we can!"

* * *

Doing her very best turned out to be much harder than she expected. Every day she knew she wasn't living up to the Colonel's expectations. She was too weak, too slow, and too little. She was always dead last in every test she was presented. She couldn't even keep up with the pace of the tests. Every night, she'd return to her bunk, dead tired, and stayed awake only long enough to change into her pajamas, and then shutting down the instant her head hit the pillow. When she awoke in the morning, her entire body would be sore and achy, and it was always a struggle to stay awake and not fall back asleep.

Her only refuge in the daily hell was her chats with Steve. He was a nice guy, and always found a way to make her laugh. During their chats, she'd come to learn that he was an outcast from his own division like her, and was also struggling with the tests the Colonel was presenting his own division. He also had someone determined to make him look like an idiot during the tests like she had with Marcus Reid. His name was Gilmore Hodge, and seemed to be just as evil.

"Let's hope they never meet up here," Steve told her one evening. "One idiot is bad enough, but add two and we might just have to keep one eye open whenever we sleep."

The only time she really felt like she made impression was on day three, when they were present with a crawling exercise. They had to crawl as quickly as they could with fake guns underneath a large amount of barbed wire. The first one out, as a means to get them all to try harder, would get a bar of chocolate with dinner than night. The bigger kids had struggled, as they kept getting scratched and tangled in the wire, but as the littlest, Jamie had breezed right through the test. She had finished it within fifteen seconds, much to the surprise of both Colonel Phillip's and Agent Carter, and the delight of Doctor Erskine, who was also monitoring the kids' results. She had shared her candy bar that night with Steve, savoring in the taste of the sweet, rich chocolate.

But that was her only real moment of glory. Today was the day they'd be presented with their final exercises, and they'd be told that evening who had been chosen.

She was currently doing the same basic exercises as the other children: Crunches, Push-Ups, and Jumping Jack's, and as usual, she was making herself look like a fool.

While the other nine children managed to finish each set of the exercises with ease, Jamie struggled to so much as keep up with them.

"Faster, all of you!" Agent Carter barked. "My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul…"

Jamie tried harder than ever to finish her last six push-ups, but the muscles in her arms were screaming for reprieve, and it was in effort to so much as move.

As she struggled, she failed to notice the Colonel and Doctor Erskine a few feet apart from them all. Discussing her.

"You aren't really thinking about the Harper girl, are you?" said the Colonel skeptically. Doctor Erskine nodded.

"I wasn't just thinking about it," the Doctor replied. "She is a clear choice."

Colonel Phillip's scoffed. "When you brought that girl onto my army base, I let it slide. I thought, what the hell? We needed one last kid to compare results to with the more promising one's. I never thought you'd pick her."

The kids rose at once at Agent Carter's demand, Jamie more slowly, and proceeded to do Jumping Jack's. Jamie was exhausted, and couldn't do more than lift her arms halfway as she did the jumps.

"Stick a needle in that girl's arm, it'll go through her. Just look at that," he added, noting the failing Jumping Jack's she was presenting. "She's making me cry."

"I am looking for qualities beyond physical," Doctor Erskine objected. Now Colonel Phillip's glared at him.

"Do you know how long it took to set up this project? All the groveling I had to do in front of Senator what's-his-name committees?"

"Yes," said the Doctor. "I am well aware of your efforts."

"Then throw me a bone," said the Colonel, now looking over at Reid.

Unlike Jamie, Marcus Reid was performing his Jumping Jack's flawlessly, and didn't appear to be the slightest bit fatigued.

"Reid passed every test we gave him," said the Colonel approvingly. "He's big, he's fast, and he obeys orders. He's a soldier."

"He's a bully," Doctor Erskine objected. Colonel Phillip's rolled his eye as he took his gun out from its holster.

"You don't win wars with niceness, Doctor," said the Colonel, replacing the bullets with blanks. "You win wars with guts."

Then, he pointed it at a thirteen year-old boy in the line.

The other's screamed, including Reid, and they all ducked for cover, all except Jamie. To the Colonel's surprise, she didn't duck for cover behind something like he'd presumed. Instead, she rushed forward, and pushed the other boy out of the way just seconds before he fired off the blank. She fell backward from the force of the blank, her face shocked at the fact that she wasn't bleeding.

Everyone stared at the little girl's guts. They couldn't believe what they'd just witnessed. Slowly, Jamie sat up on the ground.

"Was that some kind of test?" she asked.

Colonel Phillip's didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to face Doctor Erskine.

"She's still tiny," he said, before marching off, knowing he'd lost this battle.

* * *

"Steve! Steve!" Jamie called out as she ran up to the entrance of the Mess Hall that evening. "You won't believe what happened!"

"What?" said Steve, not sure what had made her so excited. "What happened?"

"I got chosen! I'm going to be getting some kind of procedure done tomorrow so I can become the super child soldier! They told me not to eat tonight, but I came here anyway just to tell you!"

Steve blinked, not believing his ears.

"What a coincidence," he exclaimed. "I was picked, too, for the adult division. I was actually waiting here to tell you."

"Really?" Jamie said. "We're really alike, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Steve said, leading her away from the Mess Hall.

"What do you think's going to happen to us tomorrow?" Jamie asked as they walked through the camp. "Do you think they're going to perform some kind of surgery on us?"

"I'm not quite sure," Steve replied. "They didn't tell me what they're planning on doing."

"I'm a little scared, Steve," Jamie admitted, glancing up the night sky. "I came because I wanted to help my big brother. I didn't realize what exactly I was getting involved in when Doctor Erskine invited me here."

"I know what you mean," said Steve. "I'm nervous, too."

They were nervous for several moments as they kept walking. When they passed by the housing buildings. Jamie suddenly glanced over at hers.

"It's cold tonight," she exclaimed. "Do you want to keep talking in my bunker?"

"Sure, why not," Steve said, and he followed her inside.

Jamie sat down on her bunk, and reached inside her bag for her stuffed panda, and the picture of Trent.

"That you friend?" Steve asked her, gesturing to her panda as he took a seat beside her. Jamie nodded.

"Yep. This is Pannie," she held him up for Steve to see. "And this," Jamie went on, showing him the picture, "is my big brother, Trenton Harper."

Steve looked over the photograph. It was in black and white, but it was still obvious to see the similarities between them. He had thick, matted dark hair, and dark eyes. He appeared to look very strong, but unlike some of the rugged fellows here at the boot camp, he didn't seem to look thickset, but rather normal, as though his strength was gained through heavy lifting instead of daily military training.

"He looks like an honest guy," said Steve, giving her back the photo. Jamie nodded earnestly.

"Oh, he is, Steve!" she replied. "He's my very best friend! You can't imagine what it's like, being separated from him like this."

"I have a rough idea," Steve told her. Jamie gazed at him questioningly.

"Do you have a brother overseas, too?" Jamie asked. Steve shook his head.

"No, but my lifelong friend is over there," he explained. "James Barnes, but everyone calls him Bucky. He's a Sergeant in the 107th infantry."

"Really?" Jamie exclaimed. "My brother's in the 107th as well! Perhaps they know each other!"

"That would be something," Steve agreed.

The two of them started to laugh, but someone knocking on the door to the bunker cut them off. The door then opened to reveal Doctor Erskine, holding a rather large bottle of some kind of liquid, and three glasses.

"May I?" he asked, taking a step into the room.

"Yes, of course," Jamie said.

"I see you've already met Mr. Rogers," said Doctor Erskine, walking up and sitting down on the edge of the bed beside hers. Jamie nodded.

"Yes, Steve's been very nice to me," she said.

"Can't sleep?" he asked them both.

"Got the jitters, I guess," said Steve.

Doctor Erskine chuckled. "Me too," he said.

"May I ask you a question, Doctor Erskine?" Jamie piped.

"Just one?" asked Doctor Erskine.

"Why us?"

Doctor Erskine paused, trying to think of an answer that both she and Steve would be able to understand.

"I suppose that is the only question that matters," he said after several moments. Then he picked up the bottle he'd brought with him and showed it to them. "This is from Augsburg," he said. "My city. So many people forget that the first country the Nazi's invaded was their own. You know, after the last war, my people struggled. They… they felt weak… they felt slow… then Hitler comes along with the marching and the big show and the flags and all that, and he, he hears of me. My work, and he finds me. Then he says, 'You,'" he paused, lifting a finger at Jamie and Steve to emphasize what had happened. "He says, 'You will make us strong.' Well, I am not interested. So, he sends the head of Hydra. The East research division. A brilliant scientist by the name of Johann Schmidt."

"Hydra?" Jamie repeated. "They supply the Nazi's with advanced weaponry, right?"

"Yes, they do," said Doctor Erskine, surprised by her knowledge. "But how do you know that?"

Jamie ignored the confused looks she was receiving from both Doctor Erskine and Steve, and reached into the bag she had brought with her. She took the most recent letter from Trent out.

"My brother told me," she said, giving him the letter. Doctor Erskine read the letter silently, and then gave it back to her.

"I suggest you keep that letter hidden," he advised. "If the Colonel were to learn about it, he'd make sure to have it burned so that information about Hydra doesn't leak out to the American public."

"Yes, sir," said Jamie, putting it back into her bag.

"Anyway," Doctor Erskine went on. "Schmidt is a member of the inner circle, and he's ambitious. He and Hitler share a passion for occult power and tetanic myth. Hitler uses his fantasies to inspire his followers, but for Schmidt, it is not fantasy. For him, it is real. He has become convinced that there is a great power hidden in the earth, left here by the gods, and waiting to be seized by a superior man. So, when he has found my formula, and what it can do, he cannot resists. Schmidt must become that superior man."

"Did it make him stronger?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," said Doctor Erskine. "But, there were… other effects…"

Steve and Jamie looked at him curiously.

"The serum was not ready," Doctor Erskine explained. "But more important, the man. The serum amplifies everything that is inside, so good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were both chosen. Because a strong man, who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power, but a weak man, or girl," he added, nodding to Jamie, "who know the value of strength, and knows compassion…"

Steve and Jamie exchanged glances before looking back at Doctor Erskine.

"Thanks, I think," said Steve uncertainly.

Doctor Erskine smiled to them before opening the bottle of wine and pouring it into the three glasses. The one's for him and Steve he filled completely, but Jamie's he poured less than a millimeter, only enough so she could taste it.

"Whatever happens tomorrow you both must promise me one thing," he said. "That you will both stay who you are. Not perfect soldiers," he pointed at their hearts. "But a good man and girl."

Jamie nodded to him, as did Steve before raising his glass.

"To the little guys," he toasted. Jamie smiled, and raised her glass as well.

"The little guys!" she agreed.

The three of them clinked their glasses. As Steve and Jamie brought the glasses to their lips, however, Doctor Erskine spoke up.

"No, no, wait! What am I doing? No, you both have a procedure tomorrow." He took the glasses away from them both and poured the liquid within them into his own glass. "No fluids."

"Can we drink them with you after?" Jamie asked him.

"No, I don't have a procedure tomorrow," said Doctor Erskine. "I don't have to drink it after, so I'll drink it now."

Jamie ever so slightly chuckled.

* * *

Jamie couldn't stop fidgeting. She was in a car with Steve and Agent Carter, on the way to the procedure. She'd been woken very early that morning by Agent Carter, who threw her a mini-sized version of the standard woman's private uniform and ordered her to get dressed. She now was dressed exactly like Steve. A tan button up shirt, tie, and garrison cap. The only difference was that Steve had on a tan set of pants. She, however, had been given a knee-length tan skirt to accompany the outfit. She kept playing with the hem of it as the car entered Brooklyn. She didn't recognize the neighborhood they were in, but apparently Steve did.

"I know this neighborhood," said Steve suddenly. "I got beat up in that alley," he pointed out the window at the alley they were passing. "And that parking lot… and behind that diner…"

"I know what that's like," said Jamie. "Other kids threw mud at me… and they'd occasionally find alley where they could beat me up…"

"Did you both have something against running away?" Agent Carter asked.

"If you start running, they'll never let you stop," said Steve. "But you stand up, you push back… you can't say no forever, right?"

"For me it was different," said Jamie, looking out the window as they drove past a small group of kids playing. "I wanted to run away, I really did, but I couldn't. The reason they bullied me was because they mocked not only my desire for wanting to join the army, but my brother fighting across the sea as well. I can handle them insulting me, but I wouldn't just let them insult Trent and get away with it."

"I know a little of what that's like," said Agent Carter. "To have every door shut in your face."

"I guess I just don't know why you would want to join the army if you're a beautiful dame," said Steve. Both Jamie and Agent Carter stared at him. He suddenly realized how strange that sounded, and tried to correct himself. "Beautiful… oh, a woman. I mean… an agent, not a dame. You are beautiful."

Jamie snickered. Steve turned bright red.

"You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" Agent Carter asked him.

"I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one," he admitted.

"Do I count for nothing?" said Jamie, folding her arms. Steve and Agent Carter both chuckled.

"Sorry, I mean one that's over the age of eighteen. Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on."

"You must have danced," said Agent Carter.

"Well, asking a woman to dance always seems so terrifying," said Steve. "And the past few years just… didn't seem to matter that much. I figured I'd wait."

"For what?" Agent Carter asked.

"The right partner," he replied.

Before anything else could be said, the car came to a stop, and they all climbed out. They were in front of an old fashioned antique shop.

"This way," said Agent Carter, shepherding them both inside.

"What're we doing here?" Jamie asked.

"Follow me, both of you," said Agent Carter, ignoring Jamie's question.

They followed her into the shop. Hearing the bell on the door when they entered, an old woman with thinning gray hair and wearing a pink cardigan stepped out from the back room and stood behind the counter.

"Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?" she asked Agent Carter in a frail voice.

"Yes," Agent Carter agreed. "But I always carry an umbrella."

At the response, the woman shifted something from underneath the counter. Then, Agent Carter went through the door the woman had come from. They came to a stop in front of a huge bookcase, its shelves full of old, dusty volumes of books.

Then the shelves swung toward them to reveal a secret door, beyond it a white hallway and military officials stood guard at each doorway.

Agent Carter walked on down the hall, and Steve and Jamie followed her, both of them looking about everywhere, trying to take in this secret base. She led them all the way down the hall to a set of steel doors that opened for them by two guards. Steve and Jamie followed Agent Carter inside, only to be amazed as to what was inside this room.

They were standing upon a steel balcony over a large, round room filled with large, flashing machines. Some of these machines formed a large circle around two large devices, one much smaller than they other. Doctors were scurrying about in here, checking over the machines to ensure everything was safe, or at least they were until they entered, because everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Steve and Jamie.

Agent Carter motioned them to follow her down a short flight of stairs. Doctor Erskine was patiently waiting for them at the bottom.

"Good morning," he said, shaking Steve's hand and then Jamie's. Jamie opened her mouth to say good morning back, but at that moment a bright flash of light suddenly erupted in front of her eyes, and all she saw was spots.

"Please," said Doctor Erskine sternly to the photographer. "Not now." The photographer scurried off. Jamie blinked away the dark spots in her eyes, and turned her attention to the two devices she and Steve were standing next to.

"Is that what we're going to be?" she asked quietly. Doctor Erskine nodded.

"Are you both ready?" he asked.

They both nodded, still unsure of what they were expected to do.

"Good," he continued. "Take off your shirts, ties, and hats."

Slowly, Steve and Jamie did as he said. Jamie felt no embarrassment whatsoever at stripping off her clothes. She had not yet hit puberty, and she was still flat as pancake. Still a child, she thought this was no different than taking off her clothes for a medical examination.

As she climbed into the machine, her nerves set back in, and she hesitated before lying down on the soft foamy padding. She was visibly shaking, and wanted more than anything just to run out of the room.

As soon as Steve had laid down as well, Doctor Erskine walked up between their machines.

"Comfortable?" he asked them.

"It's a little big," Steve said. Doctor Erskine chuckled, and then turned to Jamie.

"I'm just nervous," she answered.

"That's to be expected, I suppose," Doctor Erskine said in reply.

"You save us any of that schnapps?" Steve asked, trying to keep the situation somewhat light so as to calm both Jamie and himself down.

Doctor Erskine gave a curt shake of his head. "Not as much as I should have," he admitted. "Sorry."

"You'll have to treat us to ice cream when this all over then, Doctor," said Jamie, keeping her eyes fixed on the ceiling so as not to look at the long, pointy needles that were hooked up to two pads in her machine. "If I can't even have a taste of wine, it's the least you can do."

Doctor Erskine openly laughed.

"We'll see," he said. Then he turned around and called out the last name Jamie expected to hear at a medical testing site like this.

"Mr. Stark, how are your levels?"

Jamie ever so slightly sat up. Sure enough, the billionaire Howard Stark had just come down the flight of stairs and was approaching Doctor Erskine and Agent Carter.

"Levels are at one hundred percent," he replied. "We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready as we'll ever be."

"Howard Stark!" said Jamie, not believing she was less than three feet away from the billionaire. "I saw you at the World Exposition of Tomorrow!"

Mr. Stark chuckled. "Ah, you mean the failed presentation of the hover car?" he asked. Jamie nodded, as did Steve.

"I was there, too, but I never would have guessed to see you here of all places," he exclaimed.

"Yes, well, my inventions are what's making this experiment possible," he replied. "Good luck to the both of you." He then turned around, and walked over to one of the machines beside the devices.

"Agent Carter," said Doctor Erskine, "don't you think that it would be more comfortable in the booth?"

"Oh yes, of course, sorry," she said. She turned and went back upstairs to a large booth on the side of the room.

The booth was filled with all sorts of people. Most of them were from the military, but there were government officials there, too. Jamie recognized the Senator Brandt in the front most row, waiting for the experiment to begin.

Jamie gulped as Doctor Erskine picked up a microphone from a table, and flicked it to make sure that it was on. "Can you hear me? Is this thing on?" He said into the mic at the people in the booth. A man up there nodded, and Doctor Erskine continued.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began as nurses approached Steve and Jamie and placed the pads that had the needles on them onto their chests, "today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first steps on the path to peace. Peace for not only today in the present, but peace for tomorrow in the future."

Jamie shivered as the needles on the pads broke through her skin. It was uncomfortable, but the pain went as quickly as it had had come. They started to hurt again, however, when she attempted to move, so she kept as still as she could.

"We begin with a series of micro injections into the subject's major muscle groups," Doctor Erskine went on as two nurses brought out a number of tubes filled with blue-colored serums, and began placing them inside both Steve and Jamie's machines. Only one tube was left over, ready to be duplicated in the event that the serum worked. "The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change, and then to stimulate growth, the subjects will be saturated with vita rays."

He paused as two nurses began swiping rubbing alcohol onto both Steve and Jamie's upper arms with gauze pads to sterilize the areas, and then proceeded to inject syringes into the spots they had cleaned off.

"That wasn't so bad," Steve said.

"That was penicillin," said Doctor Erskine. Then he spoke back into the microphone. "Serum infusion beginning in… Five… Four…"

Two more pads filled with needles were placed on Jamie's lowers arms, and she winced again slightly as the needles broke through her skin and into her body.

"Three… Two…"

Steve and Jamie glanced at each other through their machines. This was it.

"One."

As soon as Doctor Erskine had finished speaking, the serum drained from their containers and went through the smaller tubes it was connected to in the machine, and into the needles that were piercing Jamie's skin. She bit her tongue to suppress a surprised yelp of pain. The serum was like liquid fire flowing into her muscles. It burned her entire body, and she wanted nothing more than to rip the needles in the pads out of her body to stop the painful sensation. When it finally was all injected into her body, Jamie let out a deep breath of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. Her body was still on fire, but at least the flames weren't growing any hotter.

"Now, Mr. Stark," said Doctor Erskine, giving the okay to continue on to the next step. Mr. Stark nodded, and pulled down hard on a lever. Both Steve and Jamie's machines slowly lifted up so the audience could get a clear view of them before they shut completely, leaving both Steve and Jamie in the dark. With the machine now closed off, the nurses hooked up more tubes to the exterior of the capsules.

Doctor Erskine then approached Steve's capsule and lightly tapped on it to get the boys' attention.

"Steven," he said. "Can you hear me?"

"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?" Steve joked.

Doctor Erskine smiled, and then tapped on Jamie's machine.

"What about you, Jamie? Can you hear me?"

Jamie gulped to suppress the fear she was feeling before calling back, "Yes, sir. I can hear you."

"We will proceed," Doctor Erskine told Stark. Stark nodded to him, and slowly spun a large dial on the machine in front of him before proceeding to place a pair of safety goggles on over his eyes. Then he marched over to a second machine, and turned a small wheel, activating the power in the machines that Steve and Jamie were inside of. As he turned it, he kept his eyes fixed on a display beside it, telling him how much power was going into the machine.

"That's ten percent," Stark said to Doctor Erskine. "Twenty percent… thirty…"

Jamie slowly felt a light tingling sensation spread throughout her body. It wasn't painful, really, just strange, like the feeling that her whole body had fallen asleep.

"That's forty percent!" Stark went on, continuing to turn the wheel.

Another doctor took a look at a different display and called out, "Vital signs on both subjects are normal."

"That's fifty percent… sixty…"

An uncomfortable feeling began to occur from the tingling in Jamie's body. The fiery sensation from the serum began to mix with the tingling, and they were slowly inching throughout her bloodstream. Jamie squirmed, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling from the needles still penetrating her arms and chest. She wanted the fire and tingling to go away, but they just kept mixing together inside her body.

"Seventy!"

That's when the entire world went white.

Pain. Indescribable coursed throughout Jamie's body. It was worse than the injections. The injections had only burned her muscles. This wasn't just burning, it was scalding, white-hot pain that tore not only on her muscles, but also on her bones and heart. It was like someone was forcing a red-hot piece of iron onto her heart while trying to pop her arms and legs out of their sockets in order to make room for her rapidly growing muscles. She let out blood-curdling scream of torturous pain, as did Steve.

"Steven! Jamie!" shouted Doctor Erskine, desperately banging on their machines. Steve and Jamie didn't respond. They just kept screaming in mind-numbing pain.

"Shut it down!" Screamed Agent Carter, running out of the booth and onto the small balcony. "Shut it down!"

"Kill the reactor, Mr. Stark!" Doctor Erskine ordered. "Kill the reactor!"

The famed inventor frantically jumped around to shut down the machine, but two distressed voices stopped him.

"No!" shouted Steve. "Don't! I can do this!"

"Don't shut it off!" Jamie wailed, fighting against the urge to keep screaming in order to communicate. "Don't shut it off! I'm okay!"

Reluctantly, Stark went back over to the small wheel, and proceeded to keep turning it.

"Eighty… Ninety… That's one hundred percent!"

No sooner had the words left his lips did all the machines in the room begin to start short-circuiting. Sparks flew everywhere, and the doctors and nurses jumped away and began shielding themselves. Then has quickly as it had all started, the power overload stopped, and the sparks died away as the machines containing both Steve and Jamie slowly died from the loss of power.

The room was absolutely silent. Everyone was holding his or her breath. They were all eager to see if the experiments had worked.

"Mr. Stark!" Doctor Erskine shouted after a moment, urging him to open the containers. He complied.

The doors opened to reveal not only great jets of smoke, but two completely different people to the one's that had last been seen by the audience. They were, in every shape and way, the perfect soldiers.

The short, skinny man that had been in the first machine had not only grown several inches and was now the average height for a man his age, but had developed serious muscles. His skin was no longer pale white, but had become a shade darker, as though he had recently tanned. His hair color was also more pronounced, looking sandier than before. His entire body was covered in sweat and he was panting heavily.

Jamie's physical changes were much more subtle. She, too, had grown several inches. Not as much as Steve, but enough to still appear her age. Her arms, once skinny, but holding onto her baby fat, had become smooth and strong from pure muscle. Her stomach, like her arms, had lost its natural baby fat as well, and was now purely flat upon her body. Her shoulders weren't exactly broad, but they definitely large to support the newly acquired upper body strength. The more prominent of her changes had to be her face. She hadn't lost any of her natural roundness in her cheeks, but the bones there were sharper, more defined, and her cheeks were definitely rosier than before. Her eyes, once light brown, had now become a rich chocolate, and her hair, mousy brown before, was now a prominent shade of dark brown, and framed her face in a natural wave. Like Steve, she too was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and was taking very deep breaths of air into her newly evolved lungs.

Immediately, the booth up above emptied. Everyone wanted to get a closer look at the new soldier of today, and the child soldier of the future.

Doctor Erskine helped Steve down from the containment unit as Howard Stark helped Jamie. Slowly, Jamie and Steve looked at one another.

"We did it," Steve said, limping around with the help of Doctor Erskine as he adjusted to the use of the muscles in his legs.

"It worked!" Jamie exclaimed, taking a few, hesitant steps away from Stark and toward Steve.

"Yeah, yeah I think it did," said Doctor Erskine as Agent Carter approached the both of them with their clothes.

"How do you feel?" she asked both of them.

"Taller," Steve breathed out as he put his shirt back on.

"Different," Jamie panted, doing the same.

"You both look taller," she said. "And different."

"You look like a completely different person, Steve!" Jamie exclaimed, taking in his new features fully.

"Me? You should look in the mirror," Steve said. "I can hardly believe you're the same girl that I first met in that alley way a few weeks ago."

Jamie beamed up at him, and was about to ask whether he thought her brother would recognize her the next time she saw him, when their conversation was interrupted by a sudden explosion from in the booth in the balcony.


	3. Liberty Belle

**I know I didn't have this chapter out as fast as I had chapter two out, but I had to help my family with our garage sale this weekend, and this is the first chance I've had in the past three days to sit down and be able to write this while watching the film at the same time. Sorry about that!  
**

**But anyway, I'm really excited about this chapter! Here's where you can get a taste of what Jamie can do now that she's been enhanced by the serum.**

**Please, be good readers and review, please? I love to read people's feedback!**

* * *

**Chapter Three:****Liberty Belle**

Fire and glass rained down from the ceiling, and everyone screamed as they ducked to avoid the fireballs and flying shards. As soon as it was safe, Jamie ever so slightly looked up. One of the government officials had rushed over to the serum that hadn't been used for the procedures, and seized it during the chaos.

"Stop him!" cried Doctor Erskine, having also realized what had happened. No sooner had the words left his lips did the spy take a revolver out of his pocket, and proceed to shoot the doctor twice. The doctor gasped, and fell to the ground.

"No!" Jamie's anguished screamed echoed throughout the room. The spy took advantage of the diversion, and rushed up the steps to the balcony, narrowly avoiding the bullets Agent Carter fired as she ran up the stairs after him. Steve and Jamie both ignored Agent Carter and the man, and rushed toward the side of the kind doctor.

"Doctor Erskine!" Jamie whimpered. "Please, you're going to be okay! You're going to be okay!"

The doctor didn't verbally reply. Instead, he lifted his hand, and pointed it at her heart, and then did the same to Steve. She and Steve both silently nodded, understanding what he was telling them: stay who you both are. Having delivered this last message, the kind old German doctor smiled as he slowly shut his eyes.

Steve and Jamie glanced at each other. They couldn't let that horrible man get away with this. With silent nods to one another, they both leapt up, and raced up the stairs and down the hallways.

As they ran, they passed by the dead bodies of the little old lady in the pink cardigan that minded the antique shop, and two undercover agents that had been guarding the store from the outside.

Agent Carter stood alone in the middle of the street, her pistol raised firm and ready as a taxicab zoomed down the street straight towards her.

Fearing for the safety of the young woman, Steve leapt forward and tackled her to the other side of the street.

"I had him!" she snapped furiously.

"Be grateful, he saved your life!" Jamie shouted before tearing off down the street after the taxi, Steve right behind her.

It took a moment for Jamie to realize what she was doing. She was racing after a car at a speed she had never before been able to muster, at a speed no ordinary human being could muster, and she was not only catching up to the car, she was running after it in her bare feet. This was incredible. The more adrenaline that she felt in her body, the faster she was able to run.

The taxi turned a corner a few streets up ahead. She and Steve were too far behind it to catch up.

"Follow me!" Steve yelled, and he suddenly darted down another street.

"What're you doing?" Jamie screeched, tearing off after him. "The car went that way!"

"Just trust me! I know this neighborhood inside and out!"

Sure enough, as Jamie glanced to the side as they passed by an alleyway, she could see the taxi zooming down the street.

Picking up momentum, Steve and Jamie zigzagged through cars as they crossed a street. Jamie made a sharp turn as they reached the other side, and ran on, but Steve cut his too wide, and crashed into the store window of a bridal shop, sending glass flying everywhere as he knocked over several mannequins.

"Sorry!" he yelled over his shoulder to the shop owner as he scrambled back up to his feet, and began running back down the street again after Jamie, who hadn't even noticed what had happened, she was so focused.

"Jamie, this way!" Steve yelled to her, urging his legs to go faster in order to pass her. Jamie slowed down a bit so he could lead her in the direction he was referring to. He turned left down a second alley, so she did the same. They were rapidly approaching a locked chain-link fence. They both knew they wouldn't be able to slow down in time to avoid hitting it, so there was only one thing they could do: jump it.

Bending their knees, Steve and Jamie leapt forward into the air, clearing the fence easily. They landed in the middle of the street, and cars honked repeatedly as they tried to slow down.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Jamie shrieked, she and Steve starting to zigzag between them once more.

Like Steve had promised, they were now much closer to the runaway taxi, and they both ran faster than ever, determined to reach it.

The spy tried to shake them, driving through the middle of incoming traffic, where he knew they'd have a harder time trying to reach him. But to the spy's great surprise, they both started leaping onto the cars of ongoing traffic.

Steve and Jamie played hopscotch on the cars as they drew closer and closer to the taxi. Having much longer legs than Jamie, Steve reached it first, and jumped onto the roof of the taxi using his whole body. The driver swerved, trying to shake him off, but Steve held on tight. And then Jamie leapt on. She landed catlike behind Steve, crawled to the rear of the car, and shattered the back windshield with a single, powerful punch.

She didn't wait for the glass to stop flying. She leapt down inside the car, and quickly wrapped both her arms around the driver's seat, and the neck of the spy, attempting to choke him. The driver completely went berserk. He started turning the wheel to the left, just barely missing crashing the car into a brick wall as he instead drove down an alleyway that led out to the wharf. Then he started firing off rounds. The first ones he aimed were behind him at Jamie, in order to get her to let go of him. It worked, because she instantly let him go and fell back into the backseat with a loud 'ow!', and then he began shooting up above him, through the roof of the car to get Steve off as well. Steve dodged them, and instead climbed around to the passenger's side of the car. The spy saw him, and raised his gun to shoot him dead on, but at that moment, Jamie leapt forward and punched the back of his head.

The driver lost control of the car as he tried to regain his senses from the unseen punch, and slammed right into a parked car on the side. Steve leapt away from the taxi, taking the passenger door with him, as it overturned, and began rolling down the street from the force of the collision. When it finally stopped, he glanced up, worried for Jamie, only to see her scrambling out from the shattered back window, and the spy kicking the door to the driver's side open and getting out, too. He didn't have a clear view of Jamie, so he instead shot a round off at Steve, scaring a group of innocent civilians.

As the spy shot off another round, Steve grabbed the door he had pulled off the taxi, and used it as a shield from the incoming bullet while Jamie ran around the side of the taxi and started running dead on at the spy. Seeing the girl charge at him, the spy turned, and grabbed a little redheaded boy away from his frantic mother.

"No! Not my son!" the woman screamed as the spy grabbed the little boy, and aimed the gun at his head. Jamie stopped running, not wanting anything to happen to him, but then the spy raised the pistol at her and fired.

Jamie expected the bullet to come at her at an unseen speed, but the moment the round was fired, she instead saw it coming at her in slow motion. Thanks to the serum, her eyes were now capable of perceiving speeds no normal human could see, and she could move twice as fast.

In a motion nothing short of graceful to the surrounding witnesses, Jamie took a step forward, pirouetted in place, and as she stopped, she skipped forward before continuing to run towards the spy holding the innocent child with out a single scratch on her.

The spy stood there for a moment, not understanding what had just happened. Then he ran, firing off more bullets at Jamie as he went. Like the first time, Jamie danced right past every bullet as she charged after the spy, Steve right behind her. Even he didn't know what she was doing. Unlike her, he couldn't see the approaching bullets. His eyes hadn't been given the same unique skill the serum had granted her, and he had to hide behind objects to avoid getting shot.

As they turned the corner of the factory the spy had run into, they saw him standing still, with the gun pressed to the boy's head.

"Wait, don't!" Steve said, he and Jamie holding up their hands as they walked slowly toward him, showing they weren't going to do anything foolish.

The moment they did this however, the spy took the gun away from the child's head, and instead raised it at them. As he fired it, however, nothing happened. He had already used up all the bullets. Growling in rage, the spy threw the little boy over the edge of the wharf and just kept running. Steve and Jamie let him. They had to make sure the boy was okay. They both ran to the edge of the wharf, and saw the boy afloat in the water.

"Go, get him!" the boy shouted at Steve and Jamie. "I can swim!"

Nodding to the boy, Steve and Jamie took off again after the spy. He was currently trying to get inside what looked like a tiny, black submarine. Seeing him enter it and descend beneath the waves, Steve and Jamie dove right into the water. The submarine was fast, but Steve and Jamie were much faster. They caught up to it easily, and they both smashed the windows. The spy gasped as water began filling up the machine, but he was cut off by Steve grabbing him, pulling him out, and flinging him back out of the water, and onto the wharf. Steve and Jamie climbed back out of the water by means of a small ladder.

The spy threw rapid punches of them, but Steve and Jamie both dodge. With a swift punch to the gut from Jamie and a kick to the face from Steve, the spy fell back down on the ground, finally defeated. As he fell, he lost hold of the glass container of the serum he had stolen, and it shattered on the ground, its contents spilling all over the dock.

Steve and Jamie ignored the shattered remains of the serum that had genetically altered them, and instead kept their full attention on the failed spy.

"Who the hell are you?" Steve demanded, grabbing the spy by his collar.

"The first of many!" the spy snapped back, suddenly breaking off one of his teeth and swallowing it. "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place!"

White foam suddenly gathered at the edges of his mouth. It wasn't a tooth he had just swallowed, it was a cyanide pill.

"Hail Hydra!" the spy gasped out, before taking one last final breath.

Steve and Jamie looked at one another. They had actually done it. They had stopped the spy from getting away with the serum. Yes, the last remnants of the serum was destroyed, and yes, the spy had committed suicide before they could take him in to be questioned, but still, they had stopped him from taking the serum back to his Nazi allies. That was something to be proud of.

* * *

The return to the secret base was much more eventful this time whereas compared to the first time they had entered it. The moment they had gone back through the hidden door behind the bookcases in the antique shop, they were both bombarded at once by government officials, military personal, journalists, and nurses, all of them adamant on trying to say a few words to both of them. Agent Carter managed to shoo the both of them away before they were completely surrounded by the mob, and brought them instead to a small first-aid station, where they were both given more proper clothes to wear, and a check-up by two nurses to see if they had gotten injured at all during the chase.

"I think you got enough," said Steve suddenly to the nurse who had been taking several vials of his blood. It was the first time he had spoken since he and Jamie had caught the criminal. Agent Carter, who had been sitting watching the nurse's work silently up till then, got to her feet and began speaking.

"Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in both your genetic codes," she said, nodding to both him and Jamie. "But without Doctor Erskine it will take years."

"He was a good man," said Jamie, turning her head to hide her tears from them. "He deserved better than that."

"If they could both work only once, he would be proud it was you two." She said, trying to lift the little girl's spirits. Jamie didn't so much as glance over.

"Come with me," she said to her and Steve. "Colonel Phillips will want to see both of you."

Wordlessly, Steve and Jamie followed her out of the room, and down a flight of stairs, where they could hear the voices of Colonel Phillips and Senator Brandt arguing.

"Colonel Phillips," they heard Brandt say, "my committee is demanding answers!"

"Great!" said the Colonel, sounding extremely angry. "Why don't we start with how a German spy got a ride to my secret instillation in your car?" Senator Brandt gave him no reply, but glared furiously at the silent accusation the Colonel was saying that everything that had happened was his fault. Hearing no reply, Colonel Phillips instead walked over to Howard Stark, who was busily examining the black submarine the spy had tried to escape in. "What do we got here?"

"Speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in this country," Stark began, "but I don't know what's inside this thing, or how it works. I'm not even close to this technology."

"Then who is?" Senator Brandt demanded.

"Hydra," the Colonel answered at once. "I'm sure you've been reading our briefings."

The Senator paused.

"I'm on a number of committees, Colonel," said the Senator as Agent Carter, Steve, and Jamie entered the room.

Agent Carter opened her mouth to explain what Hydra was, but a smaller voice beside her beat her to it.

"Hydra is the Nazi deep science division," Jamie piped. "They develop weapon technology to use against us American's on the battlefield. They're led by Johann Schmidt, but he apparently has much bigger ambitions."

Every set of eyes in the room zeroed in on her, and Jamie froze. She had forgotten what Doctor Erskine had said to her the night before about keeping her brother's information about Hydra to herself. She had simply wanted to help, and now, her brother's last letter to her was more than likely going to be destroyed.

"Harper!" the Colonel shouted, storming up to her at once. "How do you know about all that?"

Jamie bit her lip, trying to think of something to say.

"Even before the serum injections I had a photographic memory, sir," she said. "Everything I've ever seen or heard, I unconsciously remember."

"That doesn't answer my question," said the Colonel, seeing right through her ploy to stall to think up a lie. "How do you know about Hydra?"

"It was Doctor Erskine," said Steve suddenly, drawing all eyes in the room to him. "He told us all about Schmidt and Hydra last night, before we went to bed."

"Erskine told you two?" said the Colonel turning his attention fully from Jamie to Steve. Steve nodded. "I see."

The Colonel bought Steve's quick lie, and instead turned back around to the Senator. Jamie looked up at Steve, silently thanking him for helping her. Steve lightly squeezed her shoulder in reply.

"Hydra's practically a cult," the Colonel said, adding on to Jamie's description. "They worship Schmidt. They think he's invincible."

"So what are you going to do about it?" the politician asked gruffly.

"Spoke to the President this morning," said Phillips, walking up to Agent Carter. "As of today, the S.S.R. is being retasked."

"Colonel?" said Agent Carter in a surprisingly soft voice.

"We are taking the fight to Hydra," Colonel Phillips explained. "Pack your bags, Agent Carter, you too, Stark. We're flying to London tonight."

"Sir," said Jamie quietly. "Sir, aren't Steve and I going, too?"

"If you're going after Schmidt, we want in," Steve added.

"You two are experiments, you're both going to Alamogordo," said Colonel Phillips at once.

"But the serum worked!" Jamie protested, not willing to let her only chance to help Trent go to waste. "We can help you!"

"I asked for an army to fight today and an army to have in the future, and all I got was the two of you," said the Colonel, his tone warning Jamie not to say another word if she knew what was good for her. "You two are not enough."

With that being said, he turned around, and left the room. Jamie hung her head, fighting the urge to cry. Everything that she'd done to help Trent was worthless now. She was about to turn, and run crying from the room, when Senator Brandt suddenly spoke, directing her attention to him.

"With all do respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point here," he said to her and Steve. "I've seen the two of you in action, Steve, Jamie, and more importantly, the country's seen it." He suddenly gestured to his assistant. "Paper!"

The assistant scurried over, carrying a copy of the morning paper in hand. He held it up so both Steve and Jamie could see. The headline read, _Nazi's in New York! Mystery Man and Girl Save Child!_ Beneath the bold words were pictures of them. The first picture was of Steve, holding up the car door to block the incoming bullets, and beneath it was of Jamie. Unlike Steve's, the picture of her was blurrier, as it had been taken while she was twirling to avoid bullets.

"The enlistment lines have been around the block since your pictures hit the news stands, and more kids are going out with their little red wagons to collect scrap metal today than ever before," Senator Brandt explained. "You don't take soldiers, symbols like that, and hide them in a lab." He then both his arms, and wrapped them both around Steve and Jamie's shoulders in order to walk them a little ways apart from curious listeners. "Do you kids want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?"

"Sir," said Steve at once, "that's all I want."

The Senator turned to Jamie.

"If it means I can help my brother in any way, of course!" said Jamie earnestly.

"Then congratulations," said the Senator, shaking each of their hands. "You both just got promoted."

* * *

"Do I really need to do this?" Jamie whispered, her nerves over the moon as she paced back and forth behind the large stage curtain as the time for her first performance drew nearer. Senator Brandt's assistant nodded as he fixed the spiked crown on her head, being mindful of the curls that had been fixed into her short, dark brown hair.

"Absolutely," he whispered back, looking her once over to see if she was ready. "It's not that hard. You're a little girl, for Christ's sake! You should want to do this! Nothing to it," the assistant assured her, seeing her still looking worried. "Promote scrap metal collecting, metal makes guns and bullets, guns and bullets kill Nazi's, bing, bang, boom. You're an American heroine."

"This just isn't how I expected to be getting there," she said sadly, "or of how I could be helping my brother."

"The senator's got a lot of pull on Capital Hill," the assistant assured her. "You and Steve play ball with us, you'll both be leading your own platoons in no time, and you'll be able to see and better help your brother then."

Jamie opened her mouth to say that with Colonel Phillips in charge of the army she doubted that would happen, but at that moment, a trumpet blasted, and a loud array of music began to play.

"That's you!" the assistant said, suddenly handing Jamie her mask. Jamie took it, and placed the subtle piece of blue fabric over her eyes, peeking out from the two holes provided. He shoved a small-sized metal torch into her hand. "Go!" he urged. Jamie nodded, and walked through the red curtain, taking her place in the center of the stage.

The audience saw her come out, and there was a large eruption of applause. Jamie fought the urge to give them a sheepish grin. She felt rather ridiculous. She stood before them wearing a bright, sparkling dress. Her upper body was covered in shiny red material that flashed as the spotlights hit it, and upon her chest was a big white star. The skirt of the dress was bright blue with large white stripes, and very short. She wore bright red boots that went up to her knees, and elbow-length red gloves. If it weren't for the mask, she'd look no different than an average chorus girl. With the spiked crown and torch, she looked like a modern, child version of a colorful Lady Liberty.

The Senator's plan was for her and Steve to become American idols through live musical performances, movies, and even comic book characters to encourage the American public to join the war efforts. While Steve's performances would encourage people to buy bonds and help the soldiers overseas receive more bullets and tents and other necessities, her shows would focus on encouraging kids to get involved with scrap metal collections.

Jamie wanted to shake her head and sigh. Collecting scrap metal was not something she wanted to promote. It was a ridiculous notion that kids could only be capable of doing that. She had tried to reason with Senator Brandt of perhaps encouraging kids to donate canned goods, but the Senator had reminded her that every school in the country was having kids already do that. What they needed right now was more metal for making guns and ammunition. She had begrudgingly complied with the task, knowing far too well that she could simply be sent to stay in a research lab if she didn't do this.

The sound of the other ten women standing around her starting to sing broke her out of her train of thought, and she smiled cheerily at the crowd.

It was an upbeat, catchy show tune, telling the audience that America's Sweetheart was protecting the nation, but was requiring a bit of assistance from the youngsters in the country.

After a few lines, there was a break in the song, and Jamie, thankful for her photographic memory for remembering her lines, began to speak.

"Our father's and brother's may be overseas, but that doesn't mean we need to sit here and ponder what's happening to them!" she stated loudly, trying to sound upbeat and bubbly. "I'm Liberty Belle, and I'm here to tell all you kids out there how you can help them!"

The music carried on, but Jamie couldn't hear it over the crowd's ecstatic applause. Jamie smiled; she was glad her little extra tidbit fell through. She was supposed to introduce herself as 'Miss America,' but she'd felt the name sounded too bland and grown-up. So she had instead reinvented the name without telling anyone, adding onto it not only a fashionable girl name, but also an American icon from the Revolutionary War. She glanced worriedly over at the Steve and Senator Brant from their seats in the first row, wanting to see if they liked it. Steve gave her a thumb up, and Senator Brandt smiled and nodded approvingly. She smiled back. They liked it.

"Collecting scrap metal will help our father's and brother's receive new guns and bullets," she went on. "No piece is too small! Every bit counts!"

She slowly grew to relax as the show went on. She was actually enjoying herself, and even nodding sweetly to the kids shouting and cheering to get her attention out in the audience.

"So remember, kids," she said, ignoring the actor dressed as Adolf Hitler sneaking up behind her on stage, and the terrified shrieks of the children out in the audience, trying to warn her that he was holding a gun. "Any way you can contribute means that America will be one step closer to winning this war, and you'll all be that much closer to seeing your father's and brother's again!"

She then pretended to have just noticed the Hitler actor, just inches behind her. She lifted her leg, and made the motion of kicking him in between the legs. The actor let out a fake howl of pain and fell onto the stage floor. The crowd went berserk with cheering and laughter.

"That's all the time I have for today kids!" said Jamie, twirling her torch in hand to prepare for the climatic close. "But remember, I, Liberty Belle, am depending on you! Good night!"

She clicked a special button on the side of the torch, and tossed it up into the air. A series of sparklers erupted from the end, showering the stage with glowing sparks. The crowd clapped and cheered harder than ever as she caught it, bowed, and then waved goodbye just before the curtain closed.

* * *

It took Jamie a long time to finally talk to Steve and Senator Brandt after the show. As soon as she had finished her number, she'd gone backstage, her mindset of changing out of her costume and meeting up with both of them so she could chat with them for awhile before Steve had to go and put on his own costume for his show in a few hours, only to find herself surrounded by a crowd of fans.

Children were waiting in a single file line, all screaming to get a picture with her and to get her autograph. Too kind to refuse, Jamie had agreed, thinking it would be over within a few minutes. What she hadn't anticipated, however, was that the line would get longer and longer. More kids from the audience were getting in line, all of them eager to see her. If it hadn't been for Brandt's assistant coming out to say that Liberty Belle was needed for a special fight against the Nazi's, she'd still be taking pictures and handing out autographs.

"Thank you," Jamie panted, her face red from smiling for so long. "I didn't think I'd be able to get away."

"No problem," the assistant said. "Steve and the Senator are waiting for you in your dressing room."

"Okay, thanks again!" Jamie said before skirting off down the hall. She was dead tired, and just wanted to sit down.

"Excellent job out there, Jamie!" the Senator exclaimed as she entered her dressing room. "The Liberty Belle part was actually a clever idea!"

"Thanks," said Jamie. "I reinvented the name without asking, and I thought you'd be mad. I just thought Miss America sounded to weird."

"No, it actually added more character to you than Miss America would have," said the Senator. "I'm glad you thought of it."

Jamie smiled to him before turning her attention to Steve. "What'd you think of the show, Steve?"

"It was great," he said, patting her head. "You looked like you were having fun up there."

"I was," said Jamie shyly. "It was fun twirling the torch around."

"You'll be having just as much tonight," said the Senator. "After Steve's show you'll both be doing one more together a little bit later on today. We're going to be introducing you two as the all-time American team: Captain America and Liberty Belle! The public will love it!"

* * *

Like the Senator had predicted, the rise of Captain America and Liberty Belle brought with it a new devotion to helping the War at Home. The American public was involved like never before: Buying bonds, growing victory gardens, working at factories, volunteering at the Red Cross… there was no shortage of people trying to help out however they could.

As the performances became more and more famous throughout the country, Captain America and Liberty Belle went on tour. They were now performing across the country, in all the famous cities: Buffalo, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Chicago, and even New York City. Wherever they went, tickets for both their individual shows, and the shows of both of them together sold out as soon as they went on the market.

Seeing the populace's strong reaction to the shows, Senator Brandt finally decided to kick their appeal up a notch. They now made cameo appearances in movies, and had their own comic book series. The children of America who couldn't afford to go see their shows had gone wild. More money started pooling in from the nation's spending on the comics and movies, and America could now afford to start buying materials to make more army goods instead of just relying on donations and people spending money on bonds.

It had taken a long time, several months of doing this in fact, before the Senator finally had enough leverage on Capital Hill to send them to Europe. To Steve and Jamie, who had been doing these public appearances for so long they'd begun to wonder if the Senator was ever going to fulfill his promise to them, the news couldn't have made them happier.

* * *

"How many of you are ready to help us sock old Adolf on the jaw?" Steve said into the microphone on the makeshift stage. He and Jamie were giving their first performance in Italy to a small American platoon. They'd been extremely excited, and had planned their speech for the army to make sure they'd make an impression. Unfortunately, the army was making it very difficult.

They didn't respond to Steve's question at all. They just stared at him irritably, as though already bored with the show.

"Okay…" said Steve awkwardly. "Um… we're going to need a volunteer!"

"I'm already a volunteer!" shouted someone in the audience. "How do you think I got here?" The men laughed.

"Bring back the girls!" someone else called out, and his statement was followed by a series of catcalls and whistles.

Steve and Jamie glanced at each other awkwardly. This wasn't going at all how they'd planned.

"Let me handle this," Steve muttered quietly to Jamie. These men weren't in the mood for seeing her usual stage tricks, and he knew she'd only be hurt by their jives if she were to try them. He'd take the brunt of their words, and spare her any pain if he could. "I think they only know our songs, but I'll see what I can do."

"You do that sweetheart!" shouted a man in the front row.

"Nice boots, Tinker Bell!" yelled someone else.

"Hey, Captain!" said someone in the middle of the crowd as he got to his feet. "Sign this!" He turned around, and flashed both Steve and Jamie his bare bottom.

Seeing Steve struggle to please the crowd, Jamie ignored what he'd told her, and grabbed the mic.

"Come on, guys," she said, plastering a bright, bubbly smile to her face. "We're all on the same team here!"

"War's no place for a kid like you, princess!" somebody yelled. "Go back home with Spandex there!"

The crowd roared with laughter. Jamie frowned, but still kept trying.

"The Captain and I are here today to thank you all for your services–"

"Services?! You call dying a service?!" Somebody up front shouted. "I'm only here because the draft demanded it!"

The agreed shouts from the crowd made Steve nervous. He was afraid somebody was actually going to try hurting Jamie. He tried to grab her hand to pull her off stage, but she whacked his hand away and tried one last time.

"Like all of you, all the Captain and I want is to help end this terrible war," she said coolly. "We've been working very hard for all of you to ensure–"

"I hardly call smiling and dancing on a stage hard!" a voice from somewhere in the middle yelled. People laughed, and then they all began throwing food at her. Jamie flinched as a tomato came flying at her face, and she braced herself for the impact, but to her surprise, it never came. She looked up see Steve blocking the food with his fake shield.

"Come on," he said, blocking a second tomato from pelting them both in red. "Let's go."

He took her hand, and dragged her off stage before she could protest. Their chorus girls took the stage in their place, and the men in the crowd cheered happily at last as the music for their song started up.

"Don't worry," said the Senator's assistant as Steve and Jamie climbed down the steps backstage. "They'll warm up to you guys."

Steve and Jamie both gave him encouraging, fake nods as they headed over to their tent. All the work they'd done over the past few months just to get here seemed pointless now. They may have won the hearts and encouraged the spirits of the American public, but it seemed that the army still had no place for either of them. To the army, Captain America and Liberty Belle were nothing more than useless characters made up for the war propaganda.

Jamie took off her mask and crown, but kept her costume on as she reached into the duffel bag she had packed with her, taking out her picture of Trent and Pannie.

She went to sit next to Steve, who was deeply immersed in doodling in a notebook he'd brought with him.

They sat in silence for quite some time, neither of them having anything worth saying to cheer each other up. As time went on, it started to rain, and that's when they heard a voice that neither of them had expected to hear.

"Hello, Steve, Jamie."

Steve and Jamie both turned. Behind them stood Agent Carter.

"Hi," said Steve, unable to mask his surprise out of his voice.

"Hi," she said back.

"It's good to see you again, Agent Carter," said Jamie, "so don't take this the wrong way, but what're you doing here?"

"Officially, I'm not here at all," she replied, sitting down beside them. "That was quite a performance."

Steve and Jamie both glanced at each other.

"Uh, yeah," said Steve, turning away from her. "We had to improvise a little bit…"

"The crowds we're used to our more… excited to see us," Jamie explained.

"As I understand you're both America's new hopes."

This time, Steve and Jamie didn't meet her gaze when they answered.

"Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit," said Steve emotionlessly.

"Wherever I go, scrap metal collections triple overnight," said Jamie tonelessly. "But put the two of us together on stage, and you get an entire city working double shifts in factories for two weeks straight."

"That's Senator Brandt's idea." Agent Carter stated.

Steve sighed. "At least he's got us doing this," he said. "Phillips would have had the both of us stuck in a lab."

"And these are your only two options?" She asked. "Lab rats or dancing monkeys?"

She glanced down at the notebook Steve had been doodling in. Not understanding what she was talking about, Jamie glanced down at it, too. Steve had been doodling a monkey dressed up in the Captain America uniform as he held an umbrella over his head while wheeling back and forth on a unicycle. Jamie sighed at it and looked away. She now even more miserable, if that was even possible.

"So long as Colonel Phillips is in charge, apparently so," she muttered.

"You were meant for more than this, you know," Agent Carter told the girl gently. "You both were."

Steve and Jamie didn't reply to that comment. They just seemed to grow even more depressed.

"What?" she asked, not sure what she'd said to upset either of them.

"You know, for the longest time I dreamed about coming over seas and being on the front lines, serving my country…" Steve trailed off. "Well, I finally got everything I wanted, and I'm wearing tights."

"All I wanted was to come overseas, and be of use to my brother," said Jamie dully. "Well, here I am, and I've yet to see him once."

Steve and Jamie both looked away from Agent Carter as they heard a car horn suddenly honk. Approaching the medical tent was a makeshift ambulance out of a military jeep. Two doctors slowly lowered a wounded man on a stretcher out of the jeep, and into the tent.

"They look like they've been through hell," Steve commented.

"These men move the most," Agent Carter explained. "Schmidt sent out a force to a zone. Two hundred men went up against him, and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured."

Jamie's mouth suddenly went dry. The 107th was the infantry her brother was in.

"The 107th?" said Steve, alarmed. Jamie looked at him, puzzled as to why he was as worried as she was, but then she remembered. He had told her once that he had a friend fighting in the 107th. Like her, he was scared his friend was dead.

"What?" Agent Carter asked, not understanding why they suddenly looked concerned. Steve and Jamie didn't answer her. They both got up, and started running to Colonel Phillips tent.

"Come on!" Steve yelled over his shoulder at Agent Carter.

"C-Colonel Phillips!" Jamie gasped as she and Steve approached his desk.

"Well," said the Colonel, sounding amused to see the two of them. "If it isn't America's Sweetheart and The Star Spangled Man with the plan. What is your plan today?"

Steve ignored his jives and went straight to business.

"We need the causality list from Bolzano," he demanded.

"You don't get to give me orders, son," said the Colonel, giving him an irritated look.

"Steve and I only want two names!" Jamie begged, her hands gripping her panda plushy and her only picture of Trent tightly. "My brother, Sergeant Trenton Harper, and Steve's friend, Sergeant James Barnes. They're both from the 107th!"

"You and I," said the Colonel, now turning his attention to Agent Carter, "are going to have a conversation later that you won't enjoy."

"Please tell us they're both alive, sir," said Steve. "B-A-R–"

"I can spell," the Colonel interrupted.

Steve and Jamie stood before him, both waiting with baited breath.

"I've signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count," said Colonel Phillips as he got up, and began shuffling through the stack of condolence letters on the desk behind him. "But the names do sound familiar. I'm sorry."

Jamie lost all concept of reality for several moments. Her brother, her loving older brother Trent, was possibly dead? It wasn't true. It just couldn't be true. He'd promised her that he'd survive. He'd promised he'd come back to her. She wouldn't accept this. She had to know for sure.

"Did you see him die?" she asked.

"Huh?" said the Colonel.

"Did you see him die?" she repeated. "My brother, Trent, did you see him die with your own two eyes?"

"I saw dozens of men killed today," said the Colonel, scoffing at the intellect of the child in front of him. "I can't keep track of each and every one."

"Then there's a chance!" she breathed, relief spreading across her small face. "There's a chance he was only captured!"

"I guess that's true," said the Colonel.

"Then are you planning a rescue mission?" said Steve. "For the other's, I mean."

"Yeah," said the Colonel, rolling his eyes. "It's called winning the war."

"But if you know where they are, then why not–"

"They're thirty miles behind the lines," the Colonel interrupted. "Through some of the most heavily fortified territory in Europe."

He paused to move to a large map of Europe on the sidewall of the tent, pointing at a small black dot several kilometers from where they currently are.

"We'd lose more men than we'd save," the Colonel explained. "I don't expect either of you to understand that because you're both chorus girls."

Steve and Jamie were silent for several moments. Yes, they understood, all right. They understood that the Colonel was abandoning not only Bucky and Trent, but also at least a hundred other good men to the fate of whatever Hydra had in store for them.

"I think Jamie and I understand just fine," Steve said coolly.

"Then understand it somewhere else," said Colonel Phillips, walking over to where several other military leaders were waiting for him to help plan their next attack. "And, if I read the posters correctly, you've both got someplace to be in thirty minutes."

Jamie ignored Colonel Phillips, and instead took a good hard look at the map before her. According to it, their army encampment was at least thirty miles southwest of the Hydra division factory the Colonel had pointed out. She was beyond grateful, at that moment, for her photographic memory. With it, she and Steve could easily find the factory on their own.

"Yes, sir," she declared, taking a look up at Steve if he was with her. He gave her a single, curt nod, and she nodded back. "We do."

And without another word, Steve and Jamie marched out of Colonel Phillips tent, and headed straight to their own, Agent Carter right on their heels.

"What do you both plan to do?" she asked as they both began filling backpacks with necessary provisions. "Walk to Austria?"

"If that's what it takes," said Steve, not even looking up at her.

"You both heard the Colonel," she went on. "They're both most likely dead."

"You don't know that for sure," Jamie retorted, stuffing the picture of her brother into her red boot before jamming her spiky crown on top of her head.

"Even so," Agent Carter went on. "He's devising a strategy. It'll take–"

"By the time he's done that, it'll be too late!" Steve snapped, throwing his warm brown leather jacket on over his Captain America costume. He threw Jamie's smaller one over to her, and she followed suit. She replaced Pannie with her metal torch, slipped her blue fabric of a mask back on, and nodded readily to Steve. They both grabbed slung their backpacks on over their shoulders, and hurried back out into the rain.

"Steve! Jamie!" Agent Carter protested, hurrying after them. Steve threw his backpack and shield into the backseat before grabbing Jamie, and putting her into the back as well. Then he turned his attention back to Agent Carter.

"You told us you thought we were meant for more than this," he said, looking her right in the eye. "Did you mean that?"

"Every word," she replied at once.

"Then you got to let us go," said Jamie, motioning for Steve to get in the drivers seat.

Steve complied and hopped in. As he was about to start up the jeep, however, Agent Carter suddenly got in front of them.

"I can do more than that," she replied.


	4. Johann Schmidt

**This chapter was somewhat of a challenge to write. It was really hard, trying to capture the essence of the fight scenes in the factory. Still, I think they came out okay. **

**Also, I'm really glad to see that more people are adding Liberty Belle into their favorites and following it. But you know what would make me even happier? If I got some more reviews! Please, people, make me happy and write encouraging words down in the box below?**

**Please, enjoy chapter four!**

* * *

**Chapter Four:****Johann Schmidt**

Jamie was grateful for the seatbelts in the little plane. They were flying through turbulent air, and the entire plane ride she had been bouncing about in her seat.

Agent Carter had managed to convince Stark to loan them one of his shipment planes, and to even pilot it. They had managed to sneak out of the camp after nightfall, and were now flying quickly over the borderlines to reach the Hydra encampment.

"The Hydra camp is in Krausberg," Agent Carter said, pulling out a map of the Austrian mountain range and pointing out the place to Steve and Jamie. "Tucked between these two mountain ranges. It's a factory of some kind."

"It must be one of the weapon factories," Jamie noted. "The kind my brother told me about."

"Your brother?" said Agent Carter, raising an eyebrow. "I thought it was Doctor Erskine who informed you and Steve about Hydra."

Jamie gulped. She had again forgotten to keep the information her brother had told her about to herself.

"If I tell you the truth, will you promise not to destroy my brother's last letter?" said Jamie. Agent Carter nodded. "Steve made that up. My brother was actually the one who told me all about Hydra."

"I see," said Agent Carter. "Well, as long as you don't tell anyone outside the army about Hydra, I see no harm in having you keep that letter with the information about Hydra."

"Oh, thank you!" Jamie breathed. "Thank you so much!"

"We should be able to drop you both right on the doorstep," said Stark suddenly from the cockpit.

"Just get us as close as you can," said Steve gratefully. Then he turned his attention to Agent Carter. "You know, you two are going to be in a lot of trouble when we land."

"And you and Jamie won't?" Agent Carter asked skeptically.

"Where we're going, if anybody yells at us, we can just shoot them," Steve pointed out.

"They will undoubtedly shoot back," she retorted.

"Well," said Steve, gesturing to his shield, "Let's hope it's good for something." He paused, and then turned to look at Jamie. "I'm going to ask you one last time to stay behind," he said cautiously, noting the sour look on Jamie's face. "Hydra won't hesitate to kill you even if you are a kid."

"For the last time, Steve, I'm going with you!" Jamie snapped, folding her arms and scowling up at him. "I may be tinier and not have some big fancy shield like you, but unlike you, I can actually see and avoid the bullets when they're shot at me!"

Steve and Agent Carter both stared at her, surprised at this revelation.

"You can see the bullets fired?" said Steve incredulously.

"What do you think I was doing that day when we chasing that spy in New York? Twirling because I wanted to? No, I was doing that to avoid the bullets he was firing. Can't you see the bullets?"

"No, of course not," said Steve, sharing a glance with Agent Carter. "I honestly had no idea why you were doing that."

"Children have much better eyesight than most adults," said Agent Carter slowly, trying to come up with a likely explanation for this unique skill Jamie had apparently acquired from the serum injections. "It would make sense that the serum enhanced it for her and not you, Steve."

Jamie smiled, knowing full well that now Steve would have no choice but to take her with him. If she could see oncoming bullets fired at them, it would be an invaluable skill for where they were going.

"Agent Carter," Stark suddenly shouted from the pilot seat. "If we're not in too much of a hurry, I thought we could stop off in Lucerne for a late night fondue?"

There was a short silence as the three passengers contemplated what Stark had just asked. Agent Carter appeared to be irritated by his question, Steve seemed embarrassed, but Jamie had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Stark is the best civilian pilot I've ever seen," said Agent Carter quickly to Steve and Jamie, trying to keep them both focused on the mission and not the abrupt question Stark had just asked her. "He's mad enough to brave this airspace. We're lucky to have him."

Jamie kept her mouth shut as Steve looked back and forth between her and Stark. Still a simple child, she had no idea what Steve was assuming, but she knew better than to say anything right then.

"So… are you two…" said Steve slowly, pointing back and forth between Agent Carter and Howard Stark. "Do you… fondue?"

"This is your transponder," said Agent Carter, ignoring the question as she handed him a small electronic device. "Activate it when you're both ready, and the signal will lead us straight to you."

"Are you sure that this thing works?" said Jamie curiously, finally glad that she could say something from this change in topic.

"It's been tested more than either of you, kid," Starke joked. He opened his mouth to say more, but at that moment, a great force jolted the plane as a bright light lit out from outside the windows, followed quickly by several other great jolts. Gunshots were racketing the sky. They were being fired at.

Steve and Jamie glanced at one another, nodded, and then leapt to their feet.

"Get back here!" Agent Carter shouted as Steve grabbed a parachute and Jamie forced open the hatch so they could both jump. "We're taking both of you all the way in!"

"As soon as we're clear," Steve shouted in order to be heard over the roar of the wind as he bent down, and let Jamie climb onto his back before strapping the parachute on over both of them. "You turn this thing around and get the hell out of here!"

"You can't give me orders!" She retorted.

"The hell I can't!" he shouted back. "I'm a Captain!"

And without another word, he jumped, carrying Jamie along with him. They fell for several moments, the wind whooshing past the two genetically altered soldiers, but seeing the trees down below growing closer and closer, Steve opened up the parachute, and they floated calmly down despite the constant gunfire.

As they came down, their parachute got caught within the branches of several trees, and they hung, suspended, in midair, unable to get free.

"Great," Steve muttered, trying to squirm in order to get them out. "Just great…"

"Steve, I have an idea," Jamie exclaimed, pulling out her torch from her pack. "Just hold still!"

Steve nodded, not sure what she was planning to do. Feeling him settle down, she twisted herself as best as she could around to face one strap that connected them to the parachute. Clicking the special button on her metal toy, she erupted the sparklers, and hovered them over the string, trying to burn right through it. It took almost a minute, but it worked, and they soon felt themselves fall several feet further down before being suspended in midair again by the other string. She repeated the process, and they fell rather unceremoniously onto the ground.

"Oof!" Steve exclaimed as he landed.

"Steve, are you alright?" Jamie asked worriedly.

"Yeah, just had the wind knocked out of me," he said as he got up and brushed himself off. "What about you?"

"No bones broken, if that's what you mean," she replied.

"Right, now, let's go."

And they off together through the dark forest toward the factory. They moved quickly, but cautiously, sticking to the shadows as they went. They had no idea where they were, but in the event that they ran into a platoon in the middle of a security sweep, they'd prefer to have the surprise on them rather than walk right into them.

Before long, they found themselves right at the entrance to the factory, or rather, a huge, formidable fortress. A towering chain link fence surrounded the entire facility with barbed wire covering the top. Great bright spotlights shined menacingly across the nearby entrances, on the look out for intruders, and at the entrance stood a series of guards, all of them training their eyes for any sign of disturbance.

"How are we going to get in?" Jamie whispered. "We'll be spotted before we get anywhere near the place!"

Steve was silent as he puzzled over what to do. He knew she was right. The only way they'd be able to get in would be disguised as a Hydra officer. But how could they do that?

Just then, a low rumbling began to echo from down the road. Steve and Jamie both turned to see a small convoy of trucks making their way down the road to the factory.

"Follow my lead!" Steve whispered, and crept along the tree line toward the convoy.

"Wait up!" Jamie hissed, tailing after him.

With a silent leap, Steve landed in the back of the last truck, startling two Hydra guards sitting in the back. They received an even greater surprise when Jamie jumped in after him.

"Boys…" said Jamie, twirling her torch.

The guards lunged at them, but Steve and Jamie were both ready for this. With silent kicks and punches, they successfully knocked them both out, and threw them back out onto the road before the truck turned a corner, the factory now in plain sight.

The two of them stayed dead silent as the truck pulled into the factory gates. One small sound, and they'd have the entire fortress pursuing them the second they left the vehicle.

The truck soon came to a full stop. Steve motioned for Jamie to get behind him, hearing another guard from outside approach. Jamie complied, squatting down just as the curtain opened. The Hydra guard caught a glimpse of a red, white, and blue shield with white stars before being pelted with a powerful, knockout punch.

The guard now out of the way, Steve and Jamie cautiously climbed out from the back of the truck, and stealthily made their way towards the cover of several Hydra jeeps. They kept low, crawling their way between them in order to avoid detection, and keeping their ears sharp for approaching guards.

"Where do we go from here?" Jamie piped.

"Hang on," said Steve, peering over the edge of the jeep they were currently hiding behind. The darkness that swept over the compound was broken only by the many searchlights towering above them. From what he could tell, the main building was still quite some distance away, but if they were able to get on top of the roofs, they would be able to save time from sneaking around behind the many jeeps.

"This way," he answered, leading the way towards a lone tank near the edge of one of the side buildings. Jamie hurried along after him, keeping her eyes glued for guards. He hoisted her up on top of the tank first, then climbed up after her.

"We need to get to that building," he whispered, nodding in the direction of the towering factory. "That's probably where we'll find Trent and Bucky."

"Got it," said Jamie, taking off across the roof.

It took a few minutes to cross the rooftops, but they soon managed to get all the way to a side entrance to the large factory. Landing catlike on the ground, Steve and Jamie crept up to the small door. Steve was about to open it, but through the small pane of glass near the top of the door, he spied a guard on patrol.

"When the door opens, be prepared to knock out the guard on the other side," Steve whispered to Jamie, knowing that she was too small to see the guard through the glass. She nodded, a resolved expression coming to her face as she gripped her torch tightly. Seeing that she was ready, Steve took a deep breath, and knocked twice on the door.

The door opened to reveal a confused guard, who clearly was not expecting anyone to be coming. Without a moment's hesitation, Jamie clicked the button on her torch, and jammed the erupting sparklers toward his face. The guard yelped as the sparklers burned him, and Jamie whacked him over the back of his skull with the blunt end of her torch, effectively knocking him out.

"Nicely done," said Steve approvingly, grabbing the guard by his ankles and dragging him outside in order not to draw attention.

"Thanks," said Jamie as they slipped inside, taking a moment to quietly shut the door behind them.

The moment they got a good look at the interior of the factory, they both ducked down behind some weapon crates for cover. If they had thought it had been busy on the outside, it was nothing compared to how it was in here. The opposite end of the corridor they had come in was full of Hydra agents supplying weapon crates to all ends of the building. There were guards everywhere, most of them lounging about from the thought that no one could sneak this far into the compound, but still had eyes lazily patrolling the area. It wasn't going to be easy for them to get around in here.

Tiptoeing between crates, Steve and Jamie hesitated at the edge of a mountain of crates, waiting for the nearby guard to look away before then ran. It took a few moments, but another Hydra agent wheeling a weapon crate nearby soon distracted him. Steve and Jamie took advantage of the diversion, and quickly ran towards the cover of several machines across the way.

The only communicating they did now was in a series of hand motions, telling each other which way to go, or to stop if they thought they had heard something. They couldn't afford to speak now. If they were to so much as whisper and a guard strolling past happened to hear, they'd be caught at once.

As they squeezed their way out from a series of large, metal cylinders, they suddenly found themselves beside a lone, glowing table. Curious, Steve and Jamie crept up to it. On top of the surface, large amounts of small, glowing blue cartridges were scattered about along with a huge series of papers, no doubt notes depicting what they were exactly.

Steve and Jamie glanced at each other hesitantly. They hadn't infiltrated this place to find out what Hydra was building, they had come to find Trent, Bucky, and the other prisoners of the 107th infantry. Still, these blue cartridges and their corresponding notes were invaluable information that would no doubt help the army figure how to defend themselves against the advanced weaponry Hydra was mass producing on a daily basis. They couldn't afford to just pass this up. The question was, could they spare the time?

"Can we chance being discovered to grab some of this stuff?" Jamie whispered.

Steve paused, internally debating their options, before finally nodding.

"Just grab what you can!" He whispered back, jamming one of the cartridges into his pocket.

Jamie nodded, and swung her backpack off, unzipped it, and stuffed as many papers that depicted what it was as she could carry into it before zipping it back up.

"Let's keep going!" she said, slipping her backpack on again.

Again, they slipped down the hall, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of holding pens for prisoners.

It took them quite some time, but they finally found them. Guarded by two Hydra agents, Steve and Jamie took them out easily, and quickly grabbed the set of keys from one of the guards before approaching the first cell of prisoners.

"Who're you two supposed to be?" A dark-skinned man wearing the traditional private's uniform asked curiously.

"I'm… Captain America," said Steve hesitantly.

"And I'm Liberty Belle," Jamie piped, smiling cheerfully to the men and even giving them a short wave.

"I… beg your pardon?" said another private, this one wearing a red beret, as he waved back.

"We're here to save you!" she went on, holding up the ring of keys.

One by one, Steve and Jamie slowly unlocked every cage of prisoners. Grateful but still confused as to who they were, the men slowly emerged from the cells.

"What, are we taking everybody?" said one private wearing a bowler hat, his eyes fixed on a young Japanese man in the cell opposite him.

The Japanese man threw the private wearing the bowler hat a dirty look as he held up his standard dog tags.

"I'm from Fresno, ace!" He snapped.

Jamie paid the two of them little attention. She was weaving up and down the line of prisoners, her picture of Trent in hand that she showed the men.

"Do you recognize this man?" she anxiously asked, showing her brother's picture to a group of men. "He's my brother! Sergeant Trenton Harper! Do you know whether or not he's alive?"

"There anybody else?" said Steve, he himself searching the faces of the crowd for Bucky. "I'm looking for a Sergeant James Barnes."

"There's an isolation ward in the factory, they could be there," said the man with the red beret from the cell, "but no one's ever come back from it."

"We'll have to chance it!" Jamie said earnestly to Steve, her brother's picture clutched tightly in her hand. Steve nodded.

"All right," he said, addressing the long line of men before him as Jamie stuffed her brother's photograph back into her boot. "The tree line is northwest. It's eighty yards past the gate. Get out fast, and give them hell. We'll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else we find."

"Wait," said the dark-skinned man, pushing himself to the front of the crowd. "You're taking the kid with you?"

"I'm no kid!" said Jamie, twirling her torch. "I'm Liberty Belle, the one who just traveled across the freaking Austrian border to save you!"

He paused, taking into account her words.

"Well, are you both sure you know what you're doing?" he delicately asked.

"Yeah," said Steve carelessly motioning for Jamie to follow him. "I've knocked out Adolf Hitler over two hundred times, and she's kicked him in between the legs just as many."

And without another word, the two of them took off back down the hall in search of the isolation ward, leaving behind the stunned group of soldiers.

As they ran, they slowly began to hear the sounds of battle raging outside. Although they ran into a few Hydra agents, they hardly spared any effort knocking them out. The majority of the guards were outside, trying to stop the mass breakout of prisoners that they had unleashed upon them. They no longer worried about sneaking around the factory. Instead, they ran freely, their eyes searching for any sign that could lead them to the isolation ward.

Whenever they came across a large grouping of Hydra soldiers, they worked together flawlessly. Jamie would use her torch to burn the majority of them in order to get them to stumble back, and then proceed to bury them in a whirlwind of punches and kicks, while Steve would deflect their gunshots with his shield and slap their weapons out of their hands before sending them flying with his powerful fists. It was almost too easy to knock around the massive platoons of men that would attempt to surround them.

They emerge onto a catwalk overlooking the main room of the factory. Steve and Jamie zipped across it, occasionally throwing guards attempting to bar their way over the edge. They didn't have time for a proper fight with just one or two. Not when they were so close to hopefully finding Trent and Bucky.

They veered off from the catwalk and took a right down a large corridor. As they ran, they suddenly spotted a short man wearing a fedora hat and struggling to get on his coat as he attempted to juggle a rather large briefcase stuffed to the brim with papers. The man froze when he spied Steve and Jamie. He was clearly terrified. Then he abruptly ran down the opposite end of the hall.

Steve and Jamie paused, not sure what to do. This was clearly not a soldier. If it were, he'd be charging at them right now, but he was still a member of Hydra. They couldn't just let him get away. They started to charge after him, but as they passed by an open door, they suddenly heard a loud groan of pain, followed by a rather hoarse cough.

Deciding the man in the hat wasn't worth it compared to the life of another, Steve and Jamie let the man go and entered the room. Strapped down on top of two metal stretchers were two fully-grown men, both of them clearly in pain. One of them was lying down upon his makeshift bed as he muttered numbers incoherently, clearly speaking to some delusion he was experiencing, but the other was sitting up, one of his legs stretched out before him as he coughed and wheezed. He was very sick, as his pale face was stricken with dirt and showed barely any color. Steve and Jamie recognized the two men at once.

"Bucky!"

"Trentie!"

The two of them ran to Trent and Bucky at once.

"Oh my God," said Jamie, taking in the weak, sick man she knew to be her brother. "You're alive! I don't believe it!" She promptly threw herself at his chest, engulfing him into a strong, loving hug.

Slowly, Trent opened his eyes, examining the strange-looking girl that had his sister's voice.

"You sound like… my little sister," he breathed, clearly trying to summon the strength to speak.

"I am your little sister!" said Jamie, taking off her mask so he could see her face. "See? It's me, Jamie!"

"Jamie?" said Trent, before letting out a deep, throaty cough. "What're you… doing here?"

"Rescuing you, of course!" she said, replacing her mask and taking out her torch. She aimed the flame part of it at the edge of one of the straps tying him down. "Now, hold still! I'm going to burn through these straps."

She clicked the button on her torch. Slowly, the sparklers chewed through the first strap, and she proceeded to burn through the second.

"Come on, get up!" she said, trying to drag Trent to his feet. "We got to get–"

"Argh!" he shouted, wincing as he stood up.

"What's wrong?" said Jamie, alarmed.

"My leg!" he groaned, slowly sitting back down on the stretcher. Jamie quickly glanced down at his legs. The fabric of his pants on his right leg was severed in the middle to show a large, deep gash. By the sign of the discoloration around his veins, he had a terrible infection, and was no doubt sick now because of it.

"Steve!" Jamie called over her shoulder. "Please, help!"

"Hang on," she heard him say, throwing Bucky's arm over his shoulder.

"No, now!" she demanded. "I don't know how to help my brother!"

Slowly Steve helped Bucky to walk over, and he examined Trent's leg.

"We're going to have to bandage it, I don't know what else can be done until he can see a doctor," he said. He reached into his pack, and pulled out a strip of bandages. "Keep his leg steady, Jamie."

"Got it," said Jamie, gently placing her hands on either side of Trent's leg. As Steve slowly began to wrap up the wound, Trent glanced up at him.

"Who're you?" he said, slowly regaining the strength to speak.

"Steve Rogers, but you might know me as Captain America," said Steve, sparing a moment to give the young man before him a curt nod.

"The comic book character for the war propaganda?"

"That's right, Trent," said Jamie, giving her brother a beaming smile. "And guess who that makes me?"

"You mean you're… Liberty Belle?" said Trent, staring wide-eyed at his little sister. Jamie nodded.

"That's right!"

"Done!" said Steve, throwing the remainder of the bandages back into his backpack. "Now, Jamie, try to help him to slowly stand."

Gently, Jamie swung Trent's arm around her waist, and slowly got to her feet, helping Trent to do the same. Again, he winced as he put pressure on his leg, but this time he didn't shout out.

"Much better," he said slowly, taking a cautious step forward as he leaned on Jamie for support.

Jamie smiled, her brother now well enough to walk out of here, and she hugged him again.

"I thought for sure you were dead," she whimpered.

Trent hugged her back.

"I thought for sure you weren't this tall," he joked.

Jamie giggled, and then turned her attention to the other man who had been strapped down like him. He was a tall fellow with black hair and dark eyes. He smiled at Jamie, and Jamie held out her hand.

"I take it you must be Bucky," she said, shaking his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he said, "but let's save the proper introduction for after we get out of here."

"Right," she said with a nod. She turned her attention back to Steve. "Let's go!"

"Wait," he said," his eyes fixed upon something on the wall before him. "Look at that!"

Jamie glanced in the direction he was looking. On the wall was a large map of Europe. This wouldn't have been so strange, if it weren't for the six small black triangles scattered across it. Those triangles were symbols for where other Hydra factories were stationed.

"Think you memorize those places?" Steve asked.

"Don't have to," said Jamie, tapping the side of her head. "My photographic memory won't let me forget!"

"Right," he said, swinging Bucky's arm back over his shoulder. "Come on!"

Jamie nodded, and again threw her weight against Trent's side for support, and followed Steve and Bucky out the door, and back down the corridor.

"What happened to you… both of you?" Bucky asked, his voice croaking slightly from lack of water as he stared back and forth between the man he had known to be small and skinny, and the little girl behind him who looked capable of breaking his arm.

"We joined the army, obviously," said Jamie, rolling her eyes at the silly question.

"Well, remind me when we get out of here to talk to the guy who let you do that," said Trent, glancing down at his sister. "He's going to have a field day when I lay it straight with him for letting my little sister put herself in danger like this."

"You can't," said Steve over his shoulder. "He's dead."

"Well, remind me then when we get out of here to lay it straight with the guy who killed him."

"Can't do that either," said Jamie with a giggle. "He's dead, too."

"Well, did it hurt?" said Bucky, slowly pushing away from Steve and walking on his own.

"A little," said Steve. There was no point in actually telling the two of them how much they had experienced during the experiment.

"Please, tell me it isn't permanent?" said Trent, glancing down expectantly at Jamie.

"Seems to be so far," she replied.

As they emerged onto the catwalk, a great explosion shook the building. Bombs had been set up on the main floor of the factory, and they were going off. Fire and smoke rose from the explosions, and slowly spread across the main level of the building.

"This way!" Steve called, motioning for the three of them to follow him up a flight of stairs to the upper balconies. Bucky ran up behind him straight away, but Jamie had difficulty maneuvering up the steps while supporting Trent.

"Go on ahead!" said Trent, slowly breaking away from his sister's grip and leaning on the railing for support. "I can manage on my own."

"I won't leave you behind!" Jamie snapped, grabbing one of his hands and yanking him up a few more steps.

They caught up to Steve and Bucky at the top, clearly waiting up for them. Reunited again, the four began to make their way down this higher catwalk, or they were going to, had it not have been for a sudden, unexpected voice.

"Captain America, and the ever exquisite Liberty Belle!"

The quartet came to an abrupt halt, and looked across the way. On the other end of the catwalk, the small man with the fedora hat Steve and Jamie had seen in the hallway was standing behind a tall man wearing a sleek black trench coat. On the upper arms of the sleeves, was a red Hydra symbol. He was grinning maliciously at Steve and Jamie, and seemed to be amused at their appearance here.

Steve and Jamie both knew instinctively who this evil man was. Johann Schmidt. This was the man in charge of Hydra, and the one responsible for Doctor Erskine's death.

"How exciting!" Schmidt went on, lazily walking down the catwalk in order to get a better look at the adult super soldier of the war, and the super child that had been intended to be a soldier for the wars in the future. "I am a great fan of your films!"

Cautiously, Steve and Jamie also began to walk down the catwalk. They too were curious about the man before them.

"So," Schmidt went on, looking the young man and the little girl before him from head to toe. "Doctor Erskine managed it after all… Not exactly improvements, but still… impressive…"

Anger surged through Steve and Jamie. Steve abruptly punched the German before him right in the face.

"You got no idea," he hissed.

"He was twice the man you'll ever be!" Jamie shouted.

Schmidt only grinned, and threw a punch back at Steve. Steve raised his shield, and the man's fist landed a huge dent right into it. Jamie rushed forward, and tried to land a roundhouse kick on the evil man before her, but Schmidt blocked it, and shoved her backward. Steve tried to take his pistol out from his holster, but Schmidt caught wind of the subtle action, and whacked Steve's gun out of his hand. The metal weapon went flying over the edge of the catwalk, and fell right into the flaming abyss far below.

Steve and Jamie both glared at Schmidt, and they were about to charge forward to engage him again, but at that moment, the catwalk suddenly disconnected. The side that they were on was moving back toward Trent and Bucky, and the side that Schmidt was on was moving back toward the tiny man on the other side. Steve and Jamie then noticed that the man was clutching a lever. He had no doubt yanked it in order to stop the fight.

Schmidt threw Steve and Jamie a dirty look.

"No matter what lies Erskine told you two," he said, suddenly moving one of his hands towards the edge of his face. "You see, I was his greatest success!" He yanked abruptly on his skin. He was wearing a synthetic mask, designed to disguise his face as regular peachy color. He threw the piece of rubber over the edge of the catwalk, allowing the two super soldiers before him to take a good look at his face.

Instead of regular, peachy skin and hair, he was completely bald, and his bones jutted out, almost as though it were his skull exposed before them, not his actual face. But either way, skin or skull, his entire head shouldn't be a bloody red color.

"You two don't have those, do you?" said Bucky cautiously, he and Trent unable to look anywhere but at the Red Skull. The only reply he received was Jamie falling to her knees and abruptly throwing up.

The Red Skull laughed at her weak stomach.

"You are both deluded, Captain, Liberty," he called out. "You both pretend to be simple soldiers, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind! Unlike you two," he continued, following the little man toward a small elevator off from the side of the catwalk. "I embrace it proudly! Without fear!"

"Then how come you're running?" Steve shouted.

The Red Skull ignored the question, and clicked the button that made the two doors slide shut.

Jamie growled. She so badly wanted to go after him, but at that moment, another explosion rocketed the building, and fire and metal rained down from the ceiling. There would be another chance for them to fight the Red Skull, for now they had to get out of here.

"Come on!" Steve said, leading the way up another stairwell to the highest catwalk. "Let's go!" Wordlessly, Jamie, Trent, and Bucky ran up after him.

He led them up the stairs, and to a somewhat wide beam that connected their catwalk to the one on the other side.

"Let's go, one at a time!" said Steve. "Trent, you go first, you're injured!"

"No, Jamie first!" he demanded.

"For Pete's sake, I'll be fine!" Jamie snapped. "I have superhuman powers on my side! Now, go!"

Not letting him debate with her, she promptly grabbed one of his legs, and swung it over the edge of the railing toward the beam. Trent threw his little sister a dirty look, but slowly climbed the rest of the way across. Cautiously, he held out his arms, and took a hesitant step on the beam. He made his way carefully down the small beam, and eventually, made it safely to the other side.

"Bucky, you next!" said Steve.

"Let me take the girl with me!" said Bucky, reaching down to pick up Jamie. Jamie swatted his arms away.

"No way!" she said at once. "Look at that thing! It can't hold the weight of two people at once! It'll crumble before we're halfway across!"

"Then you go next!" he demanded. Again, she shook her head.

"No. Again, I have super soldier abilities like Steve on my side. Should something happen, I'll have a better chance with him to get out of here than you would."

Bucky seemed to think this over then finally nodded. He carefully climbed up over the railing, and stepped cautiously onto the beam. He was only a little faster than Trent, having not a wounded leg to slow him down. Perhaps a little too fast, as the beam was growing weaker and weaker from his rapidly shifting weight upon it. As he was nearly across, there was a loud _clunk,_ and the metal of the beam began to give way. Terrified, Bucky leapt forward, and seized hold of Trent's hand on the other side of the beam as it fell down into the flames below. With Trent's help, Bucky hoisted himself up, and stood safely on the other side of the railing.

Steve and Jamie exchanged worried looks. They were now trapped on the other side of the catwalk without any means to get across.

"There's got to be a rope or something!" yelled Trent, looking around anxiously.

"Just go!" shouted Steve. "Both of you get out of here!"

"No!" yelled Bucky. "Not without you two!"

"I'm not going to leave my baby sister to her certain death!" Trent shouted.

Steve glanced down at the railing in front of him, and then began to tear it away.

"What're you doing?" said Jamie, now growing really scared.

"Just get on my back and hold on tight!" he said, bending down to her level. "We're going to have to make a jump for it!"

Jamie nodded, and hopped up onto his back. Steve got back up on his feet, and began to back away from the railing. He took a deep breath, and then made a run toward the gap, and leaped heroically into the air.

* * *

The return to the army camp was quite the ordeal. They had arrived just after dawn. Most of the men in camp were still fast asleep, but the few stragglers lounging about received the shock of their lives when they saw the procession of men being lead by Steve Rogers and Jamie Harper, Bucky and Trent right behind them. Immediately, the entire camp was in an uproar as men were running from their tents to greet the men held captive in the Hydra factory. They hadn't just returned with the prisoners, they had brought back Hydra weaponry, Hydra tanks, and even some of the supplies they had managed to scavenge before the factory went up in smoke. On and on the line of survivors came. There didn't seem to be an end.

The men in camp lined up on either side of the main pathway, clapping and congratulating them all. Steve and Jamie nodded to them, but otherwise paid them little mind. They had to find Colonel Phillips and surrender themselves to him for running off across the Austrian border without permission.

They eventually found him in the main area of camp, marching right up to the two of them. He had a neutral expression on his face, but whether or not it was disguising absolute fury, Steve and Jamie didn't know.

The two of them came to a stop before him, and they both saluted out of respect.

"Many of these men need to see doctors," said Jamie respectfully. "My brother among them."

"We'd also like to surrender ourselves for disciplinary action," Steve added.

There was a long pause as the Colonel stared at them both.

"That won't be necessary," he said at last.

"Yes, sir," said Steve.

Colonel Phillips turned, and walked away from the gathering crowd. In his place came Agent Carter.

"You're late," she stated, trying to mask her obvious joy at seeing them both alive and well before her.

Jamie grinned at her, and pulled the transponder they had been given out of her pack to show her the broken antenna.

"We couldn't call our ride," she said with a smirk.

Agent Carter smiled at her, and then smiled at Steve.

"Hey!" someone shouted suddenly. The three of them glanced over at Bucky, who was addressing the crowd. "Let's hear it for Captain America!"

"And Liberty Belle!" Trent added.

The crowd cheered as they clapped vigorously for the young man and the little girl who had risked their lives to rescue the men from the Hydra factory. Jamie blushed shyly, and tried to hide behind Steve somewhat to avoid the cheering faces. She had never been recognized like this before in her life, and she knew that things were going to be different for her and Steve in the army from here on out.


	5. Striking Back

**This is such a sad chapter. I hate that they had to make Bucky die in the movie. Was it really necessary? I think he should have survived. **

**That being said, please remember review! I love to read encouragement from all of you, my dear readers!**

* * *

**Chapter Five:****Striking Back**

The next few days went by fast for Jamie. For starters, she and Steve were given actual rankings in the army. Steve had been made an actual Captain, and she had become a Lieutenant. Although she was somewhat disappointed by the lower status, she had expected it nonetheless. She was still only a child, and there was no way the Colonel was going to let her lead an entire platoon of men on her own, even if she was biologically altered by Doctor Erskine's serum. No, she'd be staying with Steve as a subordinate whenever on the battlefield, and although she now had more leeway over directing the regular soldiers, Steve would always have the final word.

She had also been given a proper military uniform for her new ranking. A dark brown blazer similar to what Agent Carter always wore that had the bars of her ranking sewn on the front, and a matching knee-length brown skirt. The only difference between her uniform and the regular Lieutenant uniform other women in the army wore apart from size was the fact that she wore black flats instead of a set of heels because of her age.

She and Steve were also informed that they would be receiving Medals of Valor, and despite Trent and Bucky's protests, they didn't accept them. Neither of them felt right taking such high awards. They had only gone to Hydra factory to find and save Trent and Bucky. Saving the other men and destroying the factory had simply been the right thing to do while they were there, as it hadn't been their main objectives. They therefore sent word with Senator Brandt's assistant to return back to America and inform the Senator that they wouldn't be attending the ceremony.

But none of that truly mattered when compared to her time reuniting with Trent.

The doctors and nurses at the army camp had fixed up his leg as soon as he had been brought in. He'd be able to return to the battlefield in just a few short days as soon as the infection on his leg and the cold he had developed back at the Hydra factory went away. He spent the next few days in a bed in the infirmary, Jamie by his side whenever she could spare a moment. They talked for hours about everything important and nothing important. They were both so happy to be reunited.

Today, however, she wouldn't be able to see him until later that night. Today she would be working with Steve, Agent Carter, Colonel Phillips, and Howard Stark over the information that she and Steve had come across back at the Hydra factory.

"There was one here in Poland, and the Baltic," said Steve, making marks upon the map he and Jamie had been presented with upon arrival that morning in order to give the locations of the Hydra factories they had spotted on the map back in the Hydra factory.

"And the sixth one?" said Agent Carter.

"Um… it was around here somewhere," said Steve pointing at a region on the border of Russia. "Jamie, could you pinpoint where it was exactly? Jamie?"

"Just a sec!" she called from across the room, her eyes still poring over the papers she had collected from the Hydra factory, pausing only to jot something down on a notepad she had on her lap. Ever since she first read the papers, she couldn't keep her mind focused on anything else. Instead of a confusing biological formula or the blueprints to some top-secret weapon, what she had grabbed that day turned out to be copies of Schmidt's personal notes. From what she could gather, Schmidt's fantasies had lead him to find a secret artifact from the ancient Norse gods known as the Tessaract. It appeared that the majority of the advanced weaponry as well as the blue cartridge that Steve had snatched back at the Hydra base were all powered by the Tessaract, and unless she was mistaken, Schmidt seemed to have plans to use the Tessaract to not only win the war with it, but to conquer the globe.

Having discovered this, she now carried copies of the copy of the notes with her wherever she went, trying to discern how he could and would accomplish this. Colonel Phillips had tried to stop her by saying this was now military property and that civilians could not be allowed to view these notes, but she had put her foot down by saying that if she couldn't continue her research over Schmidt's plans during her free time outside of the military base, she would take her newly found information to the London Gazette, and let the entire world find out about Hydra. Hearing this, a compromise had been reached. She would be allowed to take a copy of the notes off the base so long as she was in the company of at least one other official at all times. As she spent so much of her time now with Steve and even Agent Carter, Jamie had agreed. Her only regret, however, was the fact that they never allowed her the peace and quiet that she needed to think.

"There!" she said, scribbling down the last word into her notepad. She then got up, and crossed the room to find out what Steve and Agent Carter had wanted.

"Now, what was it you wanted me to do?" she asked.

"We need you to pinpoint where that last factory was located," Agent Carter said. "Steve said it was around this area?"

"Oh, no!" said Jamie, taking up a pen. "He had it too far north. It was right here, in the cover of this mountain range!"

"Ah, I see," said Agent Carter. "Thank you, Jamie, we would have been wandering aimlessly trying to find a factory that didn't even exist!"

"No problem," she said.

"Well, these are the weapon factories that we know of," said Steve to Colonel Phillips as he was approaching their area. "Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Harper both said that Hydra shipped all the parts to another facility that isn't on this map."

Colonel Phillips nodded and turned to Agent Carter.

"Agent Carter, coordinate with MI6. I want every Allied eyeball looking for that main Hydra base."

"What about us?" she asked.

"We are going to set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass. What do you two say Rogers, Harper?" he said, now addressing Steve and Jamie. "It's your map and your research. Think you wipe Hydra off of it and find out more about what this Tessaract is?"

"Yes, sir," said Steve.

"We'll need a team," said Jamie.

"We're already putting together the best men," said Phillips, glancing down at a file he had been given by blonde woman.

"With all due respect, sir," said Steve cautiously, "so are we."

* * *

"So, let's get this straight," said one of the men that Steve and Jamie had gathered to meet them later that night at the local pub, who they now knew to be called as Timothy Dugan, or as he preferred to be called, Dum Dum. It hadn't been easy convincing the owner to let Jamie inside, but with a flash of a hundred pound note from Trent and the promise that the only thing that she would be drinking would be a soda, he had allowed her to enter. "We barely got out of there alive and you want us to go back?"

"Pretty much," said Steve.

"We know it's not fair of us to ask this of all of you," said Jamie, "but we both saw what all of you did back at the Hydra factory, and we believe you're all the best men for our team."

"Sounds rather fun, actually," said the British man at the table, James Falsworth.

The Japanese-American sitting next to him, Jim Morita, suddenly belched loudly. "I'm in," he said, he and the others doing their best not to laugh at the way Jamie was fanning away the smell from the burp that was steadily drawing nearer to her.

The French man at the table, Jacques Dernier, began speaking in rapid French. Steve and Jamie exchanged puzzled looks, neither of them knowing what it was he was saying. The last man at the table, the dark-skinned man, Gabe Jones, took charge, and began speaking in French to Jacques. He soon turned to face Steve and Jamie. "We're in," he said to them.

"And I'll always fight," said Dum Dum, bringing his mug of beer to his lips. "But you gotta do one thing for me."

"What's that?" Steve asked.

"Open a tab!" said Dum Dum.

Steve chuckled, and nodded as he got to his feet and approached the bar with all the empty mugs, Jamie tailing along behind him.

As soon as they delivered the drinks, they both went up to Trent and Bucky, who were sitting off to the side as they enjoyed their own drinks.

"I told you," said Bucky to Steve as they sat down on either side of them. "They're all idiots."

"How about you?" Steve asked his lifelong friend. "You ready to follow Captain America and Liberty Belle into the jowls of death?"

"Hell, no," said Bucky. "That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight. I'm following him and the little girl who has the guts to cross Austrian border equipped with nothing but a torch that lights up with sparklers."

Jamie smiled, and then turned to face her brother.

"What say you, Trent?" she asked. "Are you joining Captain America and Liberty Belle's awesome team to beat back Hydra?"

"I'm not joining Captain America or Liberty Belle's team," he said, wrapping his arm around Jamie's shoulder and bringing her closer to him. "I'm joining my little sister's and her good friend Steve Roger's team."

Jamie smiled, and hugged Trent tightly.

"You two aren't keeping the outfits though, right?" said Bucky, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at a poster of the two of them depicting their schedule for their tour across Europe underneath the large 'Cancelled,' sign stretched out across it.

"We actually discussed that and agree that they've grown us," said Jamie, taking a sip of the coke she had been given instead of beer from the barkeeper.

Bucky chuckled, and opened his mouth to say more, when the entire pub grew very quiet. The four of them turned around. At the entrance to the pub was Agent Carter, dressed in a beautiful red dress. Her presence seemed to light up Steve's face, Jamie noticed, although he kept his cool and nodded welcomingly to her as she approached their group.

"Captain, Lieutenant," she greeted pleasantly.

"Agent Carter," said Steve, nodding again to her.

"Ma'am," said Bucky, nodding to her as well.

"Pleased to meet you, Agent Carter," said Trent.

"It's nice to see you outside the barracks, ma'am," said Jamie brightly.

"You as well," she agreed, nodding sweetly to the little girl. It was hard to believe that the seemingly innocent little girl before her was not only a Lieutenant, but also same girl that had infiltrated the Hydra factory and freed over four hundred men from their certain deaths. She turned her attention back to Steve.

"Howard has some equipment for you and Jamie to both try. Tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good," said Steve. Agent Carter then looked expectantly at Jamie. Jamie looked up at Trent.

"You won't mind me being late again to see you tomorrow, will you?" she asked worriedly. Trent chuckled and shook his head.

"Duty calls, James. I understand."

"Then tomorrow morning works fine for me, too," she told Agent Carter.

Agent Carter nodded, then glanced over in the direction of the rest of their team, all singing bar songs as they chugged down their whisky.

"I see your top squad is prepping for duty," she noted.

"You don't like music?" said Bucky, flashing Agent Carter a knowing smile.

"I do, actually," said Agent Carter, but she didn't look at him when she said this. She kept her eyes locked with Steve. "I might even when this is all over, go dancing."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Bucky, trying to flirt once again.

"The right partner," she replied. She paused, then added, "0800, Captain, Lieutenant," before leaving without another word.

"Yes, ma'am," Steve called after her.

"We'll be there," Jamie added.

"I'm invisible," Bucky mumbled to Steve, rather depressed. "I'm turning into you. It's a horrible dream." Steve merely chuckled and patted his friend on the back.

"Don't take it so hard," he advised. "Maybe she's got a friend."

Jamie looked curiously up at Trent as they all walked back over to where they'd been sitting.

"Are all adult relationships always so complicated?" she asked.

Trent laughed, and patted her head.

"Believe me, Jamie," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "In about another few years, you'll know just how complicated they can be!"

* * *

"Excuse me! Sorry! I'm in a terrible hurry!"

Jamie ran past the majority of officers at the entrance to the American military base, rushed apologies spluttering out of her mouth over her shoulder whenever she bumped into someone.

She had overslept that morning due to staying up so late the night at the tiny pub, and she was in a great hurry not to be even later for trying out the equipment Howard Stark would be showing her.

"Sorry! Please, excuse me!" she cried, running past a startled woman carrying a stack of papers.

She zipped down the many corridors, trying to find the right room. At last, she came to the right door, went skidding to a halt, and flung it open.

"I'm so sorry for being late!" she cried, startling the majority of people in the room from her dramatic entrance. "I overslept! I promise it won't happen again! Please, forgive me!"

"It's quite alright," said Agent Carter, stepping forward and leading her down another hallway in this area. "At least I know you weren't busy doing your own activities…"

"I'm sorry?" said Jamie, taking into account the slight hostility on the edge of Agent Carter's tone.

"It's nothing," she said, not looking down at Jamie as she opened another door. "Through here, please."

Fighting the urge to glance curiously at Agent Carter as to what was wrong, Jamie did as she said and entered the room. Steve and Howard Stark were speaking to one another beside a long table covered with what looked like metal shields. Steve was holding a round one as he spoke, discussing what it was made of with Stark.

"How come it's not a standard issue?" Jamie overheard Steve ask.

"That's the rarest metal on earth. What you're holding there, that's almost all we got."

"Are you quite finished Mr. Stark?" said Agent Carter, she and Jamie walking up to them. "You still need to show Jamie her possible torch, and I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business."

Jamie fixed Agent Carter with a puzzled look. What was she talking about?

Steve seemed to know, but also was trying to change the subject, as he raised the shield he was holding out in front of him, wanting their opinions.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Jamie opened her mouth to say she thought it looked nice, but what Agent Carter did next stunned her into silence. She grabbed a revolver off the table beside her, raised it at Steve, and fired several times. Steve, horrified, raised the shield in alarm. The bullet bounced right off the metal, falling harmlessly to the ground.

"Yes," she said pleasantly, putting the revolver back down, "I think it works." Then she walked away, as though she had not just tried to seriously kill him.

There was a short silence as everyone in the room slowly came back to their senses. Steve was the one to break the silence as he pulled a slip of paper out from his pocket and gave it Stark.

"I had some ideas about the uniform," he said, his eyes still glued on Agent Carter's retreating form.

"Whatever you want, pal," said Stark, now turning to Jamie, who was still frozen in place. "Where were you, kid?" he asked, trying to bring her back to reality. "You're late."

"I… I overslept," she said, looking up at him wide eyes. "But more importantly, what was all that about?"

"Not really my place to say, but what the hell?" said Stark. "From what Steve here told me, he was ambushed by another woman here in the base. Agent Carter there saw them and got the wrong idea. She seems pretty jealous if you ask me…"

"I don't appreciate the gossip," Steve muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose to prevent a headache. Stark merely shrugged.

"Sorry," he said, though he really didn't sound sorry at all. "Anyway, now that you're here, I can show you what we have planned for your uniform and the metal and fire that's involved in your torch."

He led her over to one of the tables near Steve, where a type of cloth material that was cut out to fit her body's shape was laid out.

"It's carbon polymer, the same material as Steve's uniform," he explained as Jamie ran her fingers over it. "Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although, since you can now dodge bullets from the serum amplifying your eyes, that shouldn't be too much of a worry."

"So long as it stretchy enough for me to twirl away from bullets, that should be fine," she said.

"Over here we have some prototypes for your torch," he went on, leading her to the opposite end of the table that had the prototypes of Steve's shield. On this end were a series of small metal torches, all of them looking sturdy and durable.

"Each have the same button on the side like the one you used on stage to emit the sparklers," he explained. "But unlike that one, these one's will allow you to shoot out actual fire. Click the buttons once, and they'll shoot fireballs, but press down and hold, and they'll make large flamethrowers."

Jamie nodded as she walked down along the table, gently picking them up and testing the weights. The majority of them were rather heavy. She couldn't afford to tug a heavy rod with her during battle. She needed something light but durable. Her eyes fell on one at the end of the row. It was a bit smaller than the others, but was much lighter than the rest, and she could hold it easily in her hand.

"What about this one?" she asked, gently sweeping the torch through the air to test the balance.

"You super soldiers really like vibranium," Stark muttered, shaking his head.

"What?"

"Steve likes a shield that's made from the same type of metal as that torch," he explained. "It's stronger than steel, and a third of the weight. It's completely vibration absorbent, and can withstand temperatures of up to five hundred degrees."

"I like the feel of it," Jamie said, tossing the torch from one hand to the other. "Can I test out the flames?"

"Aim for Steve's shield," Stark advised, nodding for Steve to hold it up. "We don't want anything catching fire in here."

Jamie nodded, and aimed the torch readily before clicking the button once. Instantly, a great giant fireball erupted from the end of the torch, and died harmlessly upon reaching Steve's shield. She looked up at Stark and nodded.

"I want this one," she declared.

* * *

As soon as Trent was well enough to return to the battlefield, Captain America and Liberty Belle's team set off on their conquest to destroy Hydra. It was almost too easy for Steve, Jamie, and the rest of their team to infiltrate and take down the factories. While Bucky and Trent would lead their team in collecting information from the bases, Steve and Jamie would take on the mass majority of Hydra agents.

They were a flawless team. With the help of their upgraded uniforms, torch, and shield, they were fighting better than ever before. Steve's new shield was acting almost like a weapon for him now, as he could throw and stun many Hydra enemies at once. While he moved to collect it, Jamie would take over and use her new torch. If there were only a handful of enemies, she would use the fireballs to defeat them, but if they were surrounded, she would use the flamethrower to keep them back until Steve was ready to keep on fighting.

And their new weapons weren't their only tools at their exposal, they still had their evolved bodies for going one on one with soldiers, and they were also trained on how to use firearms. Jamie truly disliked having to use the guns, but as they greatly improved their chances for destroying the Hydra factories, she didn't object. Still a child, she would always shiver every time she shot a round and killed someone, but she would swallow her disgust and keep moving on. It was truly unusual that she was fine will harming Hydra agents when going one on one with her fists or even using her torch, but she disliked hurting them with her pistols.

Winter came far too soon to the battlefield, but even the holidays couldn't bring a damper on the destruction of the Hydra factories. Captain America and Liberty Belle continued to lead the American forces through the depths of frozen forests and across icy lakes to the depths of hell and back as they kept destroying the Hydra factories.

One by one, the six factories on the map that Steve and Jamie had brought to the attention of the American army were gone, and it was then that they and their team received remarkable news from headquarters: Schmidt's top biochemist, Arnim Zola, was going to be on a train to one of the last bases left on the map. In order to find the main Hydra base, their team was given orders to locate the train, and capture Zola.

* * *

Steve and Jamie waited upon the mountain with Bucky, Trent, and the rest of their team, awaiting the coming train. No matter what, they couldn't fail this mission. Unless they captured Zola and prevented him from popping a cyanide pill like the other men they'd tried capturing before, they wouldn't be able to find the Hydra's top-secret headquarters.

Morita and Jones were fiddling with a radio off to the side of their makeshift camp, trying to pick up a radio wave from the incoming train. As they did this, Steve and Bucky began to chat.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone on Coney Island?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, and I threw up?" said Steve.

"This isn't pay back, is it?" he joked.

"Now why would I do that?" said Steve with a chuckle.

"Revenge can be sweet," stated Jamie, not looking away from the notes she had on her lap as she continued jot down stuff down into her notepad. Her research upon what made Schmidt tick and about the mysterious object known as the Tessaract had only grown as she was able to take more papers from the other Hydra bases. It was somewhat stupid of her, she knew, to risk bringing them onto one of their raids, but there was something important she simply couldn't let wait until they returned to headquarters.

In the original notes she had found with Steve at the first Hydra base, Schmidt talked about how he would climb the great tree of Yggdrasil and harness the power of the gods with the Tessaract. This hadn't made much sense to her originally, but as she borrowed books from the nearest town's public library and collected more notes about the Tessaract from other Hydra places, she slowly began to understand what he was saying.

Yggdrasil was known to the ancient Norse as the world. Each root of this tree, as she could roughly understand, was another realm, or as the modern world preferred to call it, another world. The realm of the Norse gods was known as Asgard, the human world she and everyone she knew lived in was called Midgard, and the last world she found in the Schmidt's notes was Jotunheim, the world of the Frost Giants.

From what she could gather with deciphering Norse references in her research, it was her rough belief that Schmidt was planning on conquering not only the Earth, but also the other worlds referred to in the books she read about Yggdrasil.

If she had thought Schmidt was crazy before, she believed he was completely delusional now. From what she'd read during her research of Yggdrasil, Asgard was filled with gods with powers unparalleled to anything she could imagine. Odin, the Allfather of the Norse Gods and ruler of Asgard; Thor, Odin's famous son that was granted the mystical hammer known Mjolnir and harnessed the power of thunder and lightning; and finally Loki, Odin's adopted son of the Frost Giants that was known to be the god of tricks and deception and had a knack for sorcery. The fact that Schmidt could possibly be preparing to wage war against such beings was shocking.

At the moment, the only people who knew about what she had discovered was Steve, Trent, the other men in her team, and Agent Carter. They were the only people she trusted fully, and although it was important for her to show this research to Colonel Phillips, she couldn't bring herself to do so. She knew that if she were to tell him her theory on how Schmidt could be possibly planning inter dimensional domination, he would simply laugh and think she was as delusional as Schmidt himself.

"Still working on that theory of yours, Jamie?" Trent asked, taking a glance at her notes. Jamie nodded, her eyes glued to the papers before her.

"Yes, but I've hit a bit of a roadblock," she replied.

"Tell me, maybe I can help," he said.

"It's like I'm missing something whenever I go over all the information," she said, putting the notes and her notepad into her backpack and looking up at her brother. "I know that the answer is right in front of me, but I can't find it."

"What's the problem?"

"I know that Schmidt is planning to try and conquer Asgard and the other realms connected to the tree of Yggdrasil, but what I can't figure out is how Schmidt intends to get there. He mentions that he'll use the Tessaract to do so, but how exactly will he use it? How exactly does he intend to conquer Asgard? I'm finding more questions then answers the more I continue my research."

"Well, don't beat yourself up too much," he advised, patting her shoulder. "Schmidt is a completely insane. It could just be that he's aspiring to dominate those other worlds, but in reality won't because he can't."

"I really wish I could believe that, Trent," she said, giving him a hopeless look. "I really wish I could, but something tells me that I'm right. If we don't stop Schmidt soon, I'm scared he'll try to destroy the planet…"

Trent opened his mouth to say more, but at that moment, Morita and Jones' radio picked up on the frequency of the coming train.

Everyone quieted down at once so they could discern what the man on the other line was saying.

"You two were right," said Jones. "Doctor Zola is on the train. Hydra dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad."

"Let's get going," said Falsworth, nodding in the direction of the train rapidly approaching. "They're moving like the devil."

Jamie hopped on Steve's back as he harnessed his pulley onto the rope they had placed at the top of the mountain so they could zipline down to the train. She'd prefer to do this on her own, but as they would be racing against the clock for all of them to get on board the train before it passed, they needed to make this go as fast as possible, and since she was a child and could easily be carried by Steve on his back, she'd be going down the zipline with him.

"We only got about a ten second window," Steve explained as Jamie wrapped her arms around his neck as tight as she could without choking him. "You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield."

"Mind the gap," said Falsworth, looking down uneasily.

"Gotta get moving, buds," Dum Dum advised.

"Good luck to you all!" Jamie hollered over her shoulder as Steve grasped the pulley tightly, and jumped, carrying her along for the ride down toward the moving train.

Jamie shut her eyes. It was hard to believe that doing this stunt scared her, but she couldn't help herself from being afraid. She could hear Trent, Bucky, and Jones ziplining behind them, but she didn't dare open her eyes to see. Instead, she held on as tight as she could to Steve's neck. She may have been genetically altered from Doctor Erskine's serum, but that didn't mean she couldn't die from a thousand feet high drop off a mountain.

It felt like ages, but in the span of a few seconds, Steve let go of the pulley on the rope, and landed, albeit somewhat clumsily, onto the train. Jamie shook away her fear as their mission came back to her mind, and let go of him and stood up as Trent, Bucky, and Jones landed behind them. Their plan was very simple. While Steve, Jamie, and Bucky took out the Hydra guards on the train, Trent and Jones would look for Zola.

"This way!" Steve shouted in order to be heard above the raging wind, pointing to a small ladder that led down to the side of the train to a side door. Jamie nodded, and followed him down it as Bucky followed her.

"You better take good care of my sister, Rogers!" Trent shouted down after them. "Can't believe you talked me into letting her out of my sights during this mission!"

"She's in good hands, Sergeant!" Steve shouted back, even giving him a small salute before slamming open the small door on the train.

As soon as the three of them were inside, Bucky shut the door behind him, and they all took a good look around. By the look of the place, they were inside a cargo car, as the shelves around them were stacked with Hydra weapons and ammunition.

Cautiously, Steve, Jamie, and Bucky went forward, their weapons raised and ready in case a guard tried to surprise them.

"Seems a little too easy," Jamie murmured quietly as they approached the doorway to the other end of the cargo hold.

"Don't let your guard down," Steve advised. As they went through the doorway, however, the door slammed shut behind them, separating them from Bucky. The guards had set a trap, trying to separate them in order to stop them.

Immediately, the door on the other side of the cargo hold opened to reveal a large guard carrying a Hydra weapon. He pointed it at the two of them and fired.

Steve and Jamie immediately ducked behind a large crate full of weapons for cover. They both pulled out their guns and began firing back at the guard. Jamie would have preferred to use her torch and shoot fireballs at the Hydra agent, but as this was a train, doing so could cause the entire train to explode, killing them all.

They made their way forward as they kept firing off rounds, Steve's shield protecting them whenever the Hydra guard would shoot at them, and as soon as they were close enough, they effectively knocked him out. As soon as he was out of the way, Steve grabbed the weapon he had been using, aimed it toward the door they had come from, and fired away.

"What are you doing?" Jamie shouted.

"We need to help Bucky!" Steve answered, running to help his life long friend. "Come on!"

Jamie nodded, and took off after him.

Tossing Bucky a second gun, Steve charged into the room, knocking aside the shelf the Hydra agent that Bucky was fighting aside, exposing him. With a swift kick to the face from Jamie, the guard fell to the ground.

"I had him on the ropes," said Bucky.

"I know you did," said Steve.

Jamie smiled, and turned to say they should keep moving, when she spied the guard that she and Steve thought they had knocked out back in the other room. He was clenching his huge weapon, and was aiming right at all three of them.

"Get down!" she screamed, dropping to the floor at once. Steve and Bucky whirled around to see what she was talking about. Immediately, Steve forced Bucky down and held up his shield to protect them just seconds before the Hydra guard fired. His attack bounced harmlessly off the shield, and instead blew up the side of the train to create a large, gaping hole that overlooked the dangerous snowy ravine of the mountain outside.

Bucky was the first to recover from the blast. He immediately grabbed Steve's shield, got to his feet, and used it as a means of defense as he began firing off rounds at the Hydra agent. The Hydra agent also fired again. Again, the attack landed on Steve's shield, but as Bucky was not as strong as Steve or Jamie, he lost his balance, and he dropped the shield as he went flying out of the train through the hole, only managing not to fall into the deep abyss down below by catching hold of a piece of metal protruding out.

Steve and Jamie hopped right back into action at once. Steve reached for his shield, and hurled it right toward the Hydra guard. The guard fell backward from the force of the blow, but Jamie ran forward, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him out of the large hole, insuring that he wouldn't cause any more trouble.

With the guard out of the picture, the two of them rushed toward Bucky, who was, by some miracle, still clinging onto the piece of metal sticking out.

"Bucky!" Steve shouted, doing his best to climb out toward him. "Hang on! Grab my hand!"

He stretched out his hand, reaching out for his friend. Slowly, Bucky reached out toward him, but at that moment, the piece of metal he was clutching onto broke away. He screamed as he fell from the train, the piece of metal still clutched tightly in one of his hands.

"No!" Steve shouted, still reaching toward him.

Jamie watched, shocked, as all this happened. A million thoughts were running through her head. She was sad that Bucky was gone. As she had gotten to know him over the past several months, she had found he was a very nice man and was just as kind as Steve. She was mad that he was dead. Hydra was responsible for his death, and she and Steve would now make sure Schmidt would pay for his crimes. She was also, as much as she was ashamed to admit it, relieved that it had been him and not Trent. She couldn't help feeling horrible as that thought came to her mind. No one deserved to die, especially not Steve's best friend, but still, she couldn't help the sense of relief that spread across her body.

As she had watched Steve reaching out toward Bucky, she had imagined, for one horrible moment, that it had been her reaching toward Trent. Her brother was all she had left in this world, and if anything were to happen to him, she didn't know what she'd do.

It took Steve a very long time to climb back inside the train after Bucky fell away. He didn't speak for several moments, and Jamie didn't pressure him to. She couldn't imagine what he was going through right then.

"We have to complete our mission," he said at last. "Let's keep moving."

And he walked on without another word.

Jamie stared after him, and then looked back toward the hole in the train before running after him.

* * *

Jamie, along with Agent Carter, walked through the streets of the small town, on their way to the small tavern where she and Steve had put together their team.

Upon return to the army base, Steve had immediately left and went into town. Nobody had tried to stop him. The pain he was going through upon the death of his best friend was unimaginable. As the hours ticked past, however, Jamie and Agent Carter started to grow worried. She had caught Agent Carter slipping out of the base, heading into one of the military jeeps.

Jamie wasn't stupid. She could tell that she felt something for Steve, but she wasn't going to be left behind. It was still somewhat her fault Bucky was dead. While Steve had tried to save him, she had just stood off to the side and watched. She felt guilty that she hadn't even tried to help, and convinced Agent Carter to bring her along.

They hadn't spoken during the drive. They had just enjoyed the silence of the night. As they grew closer, however, Jamie finally spoke her main fear.

"Do you think he'll listen to us?"

Agent Carter stopped walking, and turned to look at the little girl beside her.

"It doesn't matter if he does or doesn't," she replied. "He needs to remember that he's not alone."

And with that, the two of them entered the dingy pub, completely deserted except from Steve, sitting sadly at an empty table in the middle of the room, bottles after bottles of whiskey sitting in front of him. They were all empty.

Steve glanced over at them when they entered, but didn't say anything for several moments. Jamie stared, confused. He had drunk so much alcohol, yet he didn't appear to be the slightest bit drunk. When he finally spoke, his voice was not slurred, but dull and lifeless.

"Doctor Erskine said that the serum wouldn't just affect my muscles, it would affect my cells. It'd create a protective system of regeneration and healing. Which means, you and I, Jamie," he paused to stare at her, "we can't get drunk."

Jamie frowned when she heard that. She had no intention of getting drunk anytime soon, but she felt pity enter her heart at her friend sitting at the table before her. Had been here this whole time, trying to drown away his sorrow in alcohol because of how miserable he was but instead stayed as lucid as he had been when Bucky fell from the train? She slowly looked up at Agent Carter.

"Did you know?" she asked, sitting down at the table beside Steve.

"Your metabolisms burn four times faster than the average person," she said, bringing up a chair and joining them at the table. "He thought it could be one of the side effects."

Steve said nothing. He just stared sadly at the wood of the table.

"It wasn't your fault," Agent Carter went on.

"Did you make the report?" Steve asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Well, then you know that's not true."

"We did everything we could, Steve," Jamie protested. "I saw you climb out there trying to save him!"

"But I wasn't fast enough," he said tonelessly. "I was too late to get to him…"

"Did you believe in your friend?" said Agent Carter, bringing Steve and Jamie's attention back to her. "Did you respect him?"

Steve slowly nodded.

"Then stop blaming yourself," she said. "For that was the dignity of his choice. He damn well must have thought you were worth it."

The silence that reigned over the table was long and tense. Jamie and Agent Carter waited with baited breath over how Steve would reply.

"I'm going after Schmidt," he said finally. "I'm not going to stop 'til all of Hydra is dead or captured."

"I'm with you, Steve," said Jamie at once.

"Neither of you will be alone," said Agent Carter.

* * *

The next day, Colonel Phillips called a meeting for everyone involved in the Strategic Scientific Research division. Jamie sat at a long table in the army base in between Steve and Trent, her Lieutenant uniform depicting her important rank in the incoming mission.

Feeling as though she was allowing Schmidt to continue killing innocent men like Bucky everyday out on the battlefield by keeping the information she had discovered to herself, she had sucked up her courage and reported her research findings to the Colonel first thing that morning, and upon reading her work and remembering what Doctor Zola had told him the day before, the Colonel had promptly called this meeting. They needed to stop Schmidt. Today.

As soon as everyone was assembled, he called the meeting to order.

"Johann Schmidt belongs in a bug house," he began, staring up at the map of the world on the wall before him. "He thinks he's a god and he's willing to blow up half the world to prove it. Starting with the U.S.A."

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond the capabilities," Howard Stark chimed in. "He gets across the Atlantic, he'll wipe out the entire eastern seaboard in an hour."

"Our planet isn't the only thing at stake here," said Trent, shifting everyone's attention to him. "According to my sister's research, he has bigger ambitions than simply conquering the globe."

"It's true," said Jamie, slowly sifting through her notes. "If my theories are correct, he could possibly start an inter dimensional war with other worlds so long as the Tessaract is in his possession. We need, at the very least, to get the Tessaract away from him. According to what I've deciphered from the notes and documents I've collected from the Hydra factories, the majority of Hydra weapons are powered by it. We take that away, and Hydra won't stand a chance."

"Let's leave the possibly of a war from outer space as Schmidt's last resort for now," said Colonel Phillips skeptically. "But I'll admit you have a point with that object known as the Tessaract. We'll cut a third of our losses each day if we stop the manufacturing of those weapons they produce."

"How much time we got?" asked Jones.

"According to Lieutenant Harper here and my new best friend, under twenty four hours."

"Where is he now?" asked Falsworth.

Colonel Phillips pointed at a particular place on the map behind him.

"Hydra's last base is here. In the Alps. Five hundred feet below the surface."

"So what're we supposed to do?" asked Morita. "It's not like we can just knock on the front door."

"Why not?" said Steve at once. All eyes fell on him, but he continued, unfazed. "That's exactly what we're going to do."


End file.
